


End Game

by Raynbowz



Series: An Interlude of Time [16]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, M/M, OOC Doctor at times
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-14
Updated: 2013-07-14
Packaged: 2017-12-20 04:46:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 25,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/883099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raynbowz/pseuds/Raynbowz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor and Jothan are kidnapped by a warrior species, and Jothan must make a terrible choice.  Sixteenth and final story in this series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to Tardis_Mole and D for betas, suggestions, and support.

End Game  
A Doctor Who story  
Chapter 1

The war with the Davongans had not been going well. War was, as a rule, messy, costly, and complicated, but this one also added in the possibility of total annihilation. The Palpidron High Command had not made any promising headway in several decades and indeed, had lost some of the outlying star systems to the enemy a bit at a time. The Royals were screaming for results, as were the average Palpidron on the street. Strategy after strategy had been employed, with no real progress in sight. There were even whispers of a truce in the making. It was then that the military High Command made a crucial decision: they would bring in an expert.

The hardest part, they decided, would be finding their expert in the first place. They knew exactly who they wanted but tracking him would be nearly impossible, if he still could be reached at all. There was always the possibility he didn't exist anymore, but the Palpidron were desperate people, grasping at any chance of getting what they needed. After years of searching, they caught a whiff of the scent of their prey. His craft had been spotted on a planet in the home world's star system. An extraction team was hastily assembled and given their instructions: capture the Time Lord known as the Doctor.

************  
Jothan pushed his hair out of his eyes, wishing again that he'd remembered an extra hair tie. The wind on Clovic Beta kept blowing it around to the point where he couldn't see. He stood on the beach waiting for the Doctor to return. They'd just finished helping a race of underwater dwellers fight against a virus that had been killing their precious kelp beds. The medic was about to turn away when he saw a fierce bubbling in the water about twenty feet out, and smiled as the Mevne sea pod appeared. The vehicle came to shore and out popped a grinning Doctor, clad in his usual leather jacket. Jothan moved back so the Doctor could step on dry sand, asking, “Any problems?”

“None,” the Time Lord responded cheerily. “We are free to go.”

Jothan reached out and took his lover by the hand. “What would the Universe do without you?”

“Probably implode within hours,” the Doctor replied absently. “I don't know about you, but I'm done with water for a time. Don't suppose I could talk you into visiting the Glass Desert of Vistid?”

Jothan shook his hair out of his eyes again. “Sounds interesting. What's so special about it?”

The Doctor was about to reply when there was a sudden shimmering around them and four creatures appeared out of nowhere. They were humanoid, but a muddy green color, with bulbous, wet eyes on the tops of their heads. They were also shorter than a normal human, perhaps four feet high. They had no hair and no discernible nose, but had webbing between their fingers. They also had what looked to be an impressive array of weapons pointed at the Doctor and his husband. One of the creatures stepped up and shouted, “Make no movement! You are being conscripted for the war effort.”

“Hello,” the Doctor replied, staying still. “I think you must be mistaken on who we are,” he observed. “I'm the—”

“We know you, Time Lord,” the creature snapped, the voice hollow and metallic-sounding. “There is no error. You will bring us victory against our enemies, the Davongans. You will now accompany us to the front.”

“What about my—” the Time Lord began, but there was a shimmering wave now surrounding them all, and the beach rippled and disappeared. At first there was blackness, but then there was a wash of bright color as they were transported through the Vortex. At last the colors faded into black again, and they were back in normal space.

The transmat dropped them off on a metal platform where a change of guards occurred, three switching places with the ones who had kidnapped them. There was not much to see, just grey walls and corridors. The Doctor and Jothan were quickly marched through the corridors and then into a small room with a high-powered scanner inside and empty boxes. A guard took Jothan firmly by the arm and pushed him to the floor, then started yanking at his clothing. Jothan pulled away, but the guard kept a firm grasp. Finally the Doctor murmured, “I think he wants your clothes off.”

Jothan gave one panicked glance at the Doctor, then slowly started to unlace his boots. In a minute or two he was naked except for his TARDIS key, a faint sheen of sweat on his body from the warm, humid room. The guard who seemed to be in charge grabbed at the chain around Jothan's neck. It didn't break. The guard pulled at it again, grunted, then threatened Jothan with the weapon. Jothan pulled the necklace over his head and handed it to the guard. All of Jothan's possessions were put in one of the empty boxes as he was hauled to his feet. The medic was pushed roughly through the scanner which gave a few beeps as an orange light went on. The young man was shoved to the floor by another guard who stood by him as the others turned their attention to the Doctor.

Completely unselfconsciously the Doctor removed his clothes and went through the scanner. He sat down by Jothan afterward, attempting to shield him a little from the guards. The Time Lord knew his husband would be very uncomfortable being so exposed. He glared at the guard nearest him and demanded, “What do you want with us?”

“You will bring us victory over those putrid, web-weaving Davongans,” someone answered from the door. “You will lead our forces with skill and speed until there is not a spider left in this galaxy.”

The person at the door had the same metallic voice the first guard had had. He had a sash over his chest with an array of pins and medals attached. The being spat a mouthpiece out of his mouth and made some odd sounds to its companions, using a long, thin tongue to communicate. He put the mouthpiece in again and told the Doctor, “I am Colonel Melleywon. If you cooperate with us you will be handsomely rewarded for your success. If you refuse, both you and your companion will suffer and you will still win the war for us in the end.”

The Doctor's eyes narrowed. “I don't take kindly to threats, especially not ones aimed at those I travel with. If you want my help to broker a peace—” 

“There will be no peace,” the colonel retorted. “We want our enemies burned to embers, not thinking they are our equals. You will rid the Universe of their filth and be glad of the chance.”

“What makes you think I can win this war in the first place?” the Time Lord wanted to know.

Colonel Melleywon stared hard at the Doctor. “Everyone knows of you, the Oncoming Storm. You are ruthless, cunning, and most of all, willing to do anything to gain the victory. You went so far as to kill your own people to destroy the Daleks.”

“I refuse,” the Doctor spoke with finality. “I will not commit genocide.”

“You did once, you will do it again.” The colonel pulled out his mouthpiece again and spoke to the guards, his tongue slapping and wriggling in his mouth. Two guards put handcuffs on the Doctor while the third hauled Jothan to his feet. In a moment they were on the move. This time they were directed into what looked to be a medical center. Several more of the creatures were milling about, laying out instruments. The Doctor had the handcuffs removed and was tied to a hard metal chair. The colonel told the Time Lord, “You will be given a toxin known as chotoword. It will make you more ... amenable toward our demands. At the same time, your companion will be fitted with a neural inducer, allowing us to cause him great pain. You will then be sufficiently motivated to aid us.”

The Time Lord began to struggle, but it was no use. He was injected with a solution, then pushed into full view of the operation being performed on his husband, while Jothan was strapped face-down on the table. “What are you butchers doing?” the Time Lord protested. “Where are your gloves? What about masks? This isn't a sterile field—you'll expose him to Rassilon-only-knows what kind of bacteria. You aren't even using an anesthetic! You'll kill him!” 

The three Palpidron surgeons opened up Jothan's skull right where the spinal cord met the brain stem and fitted him with a small black box, ignoring the Doctor's rantings and Jothan's screams. The surgeons were efficient, but completely uncaring about their patient. Colonel Melleywon also observed, but shifted his attention to the Doctor several times as well. An unconscious Jothan was rushed out of the room by the guards once the operation was complete, the colonel leaving with them.

The Doctor struggled to release himself, and finally tipped the chair over so he was lying on the ground. He could feel the anger coursing through him; all he could think about was making those who had hurt his lover pay. As he squirmed on the floor the bonds began to loosen a bit. The medical team ignored him totally, cleaning up instruments and talking with one another. Bit by bit the Time Lord was able to work at the ropes until he was unbound. For a moment or two he lay completely still, trying to decide on a course of action. Then the rage boiled up inside of him so strongly he could not contain himself, and he attacked.

The medical personnel were caught totally off-guard by the Time Lord's assault. The first had his face smashed into the floor by the furious Doctor. The second one tried to use a scalpel to hold the Time Lord off but did not have the quickness or dexterity needed and was stabbed in the throat, greenish blood spurting everywhere. The third frog/man attempted to run but was caught before he reached the door. The Doctor dragged the surgeon over to the table of instruments, quickly choosing the largest of the laser scalpels. He severed the Palpidron's spinal cord with the tool, and dropped him to the floor. He looked around for another combatant and was disappointed when he couldn't find one. Then his rational mind took over as he observed the carnage. 

He was vaguely surprised to find that he felt no remorse for his actions. He was a little perturbed that he hadn't left anyone in good enough shape to tell him where Jothan was, then remembered that the Palpidron couldn't speak English without a translation device. Just as well that he had disposed of them, then. If they couldn't lead him to his husband they were useless, and they certainly deserved to die after what they had done.

His mind focused on his companion. Jothan was somewhere nearby, and these alien barbarians had hurt him, planning on hurting him more. Neural inducers were cruel devices of torture, stimulating the pain receptors directly without causing any physical injury. The level of pain delivered could be adjusted anywhere from an annoying tingle to complete incapacitation. They also could be activated remotely if the victim was in range. The devices were vicious and prohibited in most of the star systems in this particular galaxy. The Doctor made a hasty plan. He would have to get to Jothan as soon as he could and remove the inducer. The next step would be to get to the TARDIS, which was still parked on Clovic Beta. After that, he would come back here and punish those who had been involved in this little scheme. Plans made, the Time Lord exited the operating room and headed down the hall hopefully toward his companion, the laser scalpel in his hand.

************  
Colonel Melleywon walked briskly to the Communication Center, proud that the mission had been so flawlessly executed. The target had been acquired and it was only a matter of time before the Time Lord would submit to the Palpidron plan. The frog/man wiggled his tongue in his mouth in pleasure, seeing in his mind the Davongan home-world exploding in a massive fireball. He accepted a salute from one of his lieutenants as he stepped into the secure communication booth to contact the Palpidron home-world. He typed in a code, then slid his tongue into a slot to be recognized by the computer. A few minutes later he was in contact with High Command.

“All has gone perfectly,” he told General Prillit, the highest ranking person in the entire fleet. “The Time Lord has been captured and his companion has been fitted with the neural inducer. Soon we shall begin torture sessions. He will not allow that to go on for long.”

“Don't be so quick to turn to torture, Colonel. Give the Time Lord a few days away from his companion to soften him up. What of the chotoword? The first dose was administered?”

“Yes, sir. I did not stay to see if it was having the desired effect, but given what we know about the toxin, I'm sure it will help us. With his inhibitions reduced, his conscience dampened, and the care for his companion amplified he will be easier to sway. I also heard that it can strengthen anger responses as well so he will be properly motivated to wipe out the Davongans.”

“Keep me posted on your progress,” General Prillit ordered. “I expect the Doctor to be ready to perform when you make the big surge in Sector Nine. If that goes well we should have all the contested worlds well in hand within twelve months, and then we can start planning our move into Davongan territory. Remember to follow the Time Lord's directions scrupulously; he was a devastating opponent to the Daleks when it came to it.”

Colonel Melleywon saluted. “Understood, General Prillit. I will give an update after the Time Lord has had a few more doses of the toxin.”  
The colonel left the communication booth and headed for the holding cell where the Doctor's companion was being housed. The two cadets snapped to attention at his approach. “Any problems?” he asked the higher-ranking guard.

“He hasn't recovered yet sir,” the guard replied, “but we've had no trouble with him.”

Colonel Melleywon frowned, wanting to begin the torture at once regardless of the general's orders. “He'll have to be conscious when we do our torture sessions; it will be a waste otherwise. Send a medic or two down here and see what they recommend; I want to start those sessions as soon as we can. No sense wasting time with those blood-sucking vermin of Davongans at our throats.”

“Colonel!” the guard responded.

As he was heading to his quarters the colonel remembered that he had left the Doctor in an operating room with only support staff in place. There was a big possibility that the medics would have finished their work and just left him there, which would be a horrible mistake. An unguarded Doctor could be very dangerous, especially considering the chotoword they were using. The alien was brilliant and was not yet fully under Palpidron control. He decided that the quickest way to remedy the situation was to go himself. He hurried to the operating room where the Doctor was, grabbing some guards he passed to make sure the Time Lord made no trouble.

The colonel entered the room and stared at the slaughter. Two of the medics were dead; a third was alive, but just, having suffered a skull fracture and serious facial injuries. Melleywon activated the base-wide alarm and called in more medics to treat the fallen surgeon. He then headed to the Command Hub and made an all-staff announcement. “The Time Lord has escaped. Repeat: The Time Lord has escaped. All guards to Station Three posts. The escapee is to be captured alive, repeat, alive. It is vital that he be found unharmed and delivered to me immediately. All support staff to Station Two posts, with all staff using communication setting peach. If you are a support staff and see the escapee, do not approach; radio for guards and note where he is heading. All shock troopers to the transmat platform; the Time Lord cannot be allowed to leave the base. This is not a drill.”

************  
Jothan woke to hear strange noises and alarms coming from outside. He rolled over on his back and winced as the movement sent pain shooting down his neck. He lay still for a bit, then checked out his surroundings. He was alone and naked in an empty room, and there was no apparent door. His head and neck hurt terribly, but he seemed to be otherwise uninjured. He sat up slowly, trying to overcome the wave of dizziness that passed over him. He decided to wait a bit before he stood up.

Just then two guards came into the room with another of the frog/men. The guards hauled Jothan to his feet while the other creature checked the back of Jothan's neck and spoke to his compatriots. Jothan felt immediately ill; he tried to hold it back but failed. He turned his head to the side and threw up, his body shuddering. The guard who caught most of the vomit elbowed Jothan hard in the ribs, and then he was dragged away. 

Jothan managed to control another wave of nausea as he was propelled down the corridors. Everyone seemed to be in a huge hurry; people were rushing here and there, many with weapons. He tried his best to count doors and turns, but soon gave it up. There was no way he'd be able to get back to the room where he had lost his clothes and other items. He closed his eyes and let the guards pull him along, his feet dragging. The aliens must be stronger than they looked, he reasoned. He was feeling too tired and too ill to even attempt walking.

At last Jothan was yanked into a room packed with equipment, with several technicians bustling around. Jothan was strapped in to a metal framework of crisscrossing bars. He was wheeled in front of a window which looked into another room. This room had a chair similar to the metal framework he was on, but nothing else. As he looked into the other room, two guards came in flanking the colonel who had spoken to Jothan and the Doctor earlier. The colonel snapped his mouthpiece in and demanded, “Tell us what the Time Lord will do.”

The medic lifted his head to stare at the colonel. “What do you mean? What's happened?”

“The Time Lord has escaped. You will tell us what he plans to do.”

Jothan shook his head. “Even if I knew what he had in mind—which I don't—I'd never tell you people. All I know is that he won't leave me to rot.”

“You do know what his likely course of action is, and you will tell us.” 

The Colonel took a small device out of somewhere and turned a dial. Pain shot through Jothan from the top of his head to his toes. He felt as though his skin was crisping and his veins filled with acid. He cried out and shut his eyes tightly against the pain. Then suddenly, it was over.

“What will the Time Lord do?” the colonel repeated.

Jothan thought quickly. He had absolutely no idea what the Doctor might have in mind, but he reasoned it would be best to pick the least likely option and tell his captors; at least it would buy time. “He'll attempt to recruit your enemies to help him; no way he'd take on you goons alone. Probably he'll try to get to your communications equipment to send a message and give away your position.”

The plan was ridiculous, but the frog/man seemed to buy it. “You will remain here. Do not try to escape; I have use for you, but not enough to refrain from killing you if necessary.” The colonel popped out the mouthpiece and spoke to his guards, who left the other room. The frog/man readjusted the mouthpiece and asked, “You have been with the Time Lord long?”

There was no way Jothan was going to tell the truth on that question. “Only a month or two; we're just getting used to each other.”  
“You're not worried he will abandon you?”

Jothan cursed under his breath. It might have been better to make the frog/men believe the Doctor would leave him behind. Still, they seemed to be a little familiar with his husband, so maybe he hadn't made a huge mistake. “He won't leave me behind. It may take a while, but he will come for me. When he does, I wouldn't want to be you.” 

The colonel shook his head. “You had better hope he comes. If he does not, you will die.”

Jothan couldn't help but ask. “Why do you want me anyway? What did I ever do to you?”

“You are merely a pawn,” the frog/man replied, dismissing Jothan with a wave of his hand. “On your own you mean nothing, but as the Time Lord's current companion you are a tool we can use to pressure him into leading our forces against the Davongans.”

“Who are they, and why do you want them dead?” the medic wanted to know.

“Davongans are a race of sentient spiders infesting this sector of the galaxy. They are cunning and persistent, taking over world after world. But with the Time Lord on our side we will annihilate the web weavers and be the dominant power in the galaxy.” 

“The Doctor won't help you, no matter what you try to do,” Jothan responded. “He wants nothing to do with war.”

“Your Time Lord friend led the most devastating war in the cosmos, and won. He made terrible sacrifices, paid a terrible price, but won. We intend to have the same results. With the Time Lord leading our forces, the Davongans won't have a chance.” The colonel spit out the mouthpiece and exited the room abruptly, leaving Jothan to wait.

************  
The Doctor heard the alarm bells go off and immediately assumed his escape had been noticed. On the one hand he didn't care; nothing was going to stop him from getting to Jothan. On the other hand the Palpidron weren't likely to leave his lover undefended. The Doctor made a change of plan; he would get the TARDIS first, then rescue Jothan. It would mean leaving the medic with his captors, but the chances of both of them escaping without the ship were remote. The Time Lord heard footsteps coming close and slipped into the first door he came to. He looked around and almost shouted with joy at his luck: he was back in the room where they had been searched. All of his clothing and effects were still in the boxes they had been left in. The Doctor dressed hurriedly and got all of his things together, then went to the box of Jothan's belongings. He made sure to get the medic's TARDIS key and sonic screwdriver. He wished he could take the rest of Jothan's things, especially the clothes, but they would only slow him down. The Time Lord then paused, trying to think of the best way to get off the base. He could think of only two options: steal a ship or get back to the transmat. After considering for a bit he decided on stealing a ship; there were too many headaches involved in finding the transmat, setting it correctly, and then being able to use it. A ship would be more practical.

He exited the room and slipped out into the hallway. Thankfully, no one was around. He went up to the next turn in the hallway and peeked around the corner, darting back again when he saw a guard coming his direction. He was going to run for it, then stopped and waited. Why should he run? He was betting he would be equal to a single guard, and he might even be able to get a better weapon than the laser scalpel. 

The guard turned the corner, goggled at the Doctor for a second, then fumbled for his weapon. The Doctor stabbed him in the forehead with the laser scalpel, catching the body as it went down. He secured the guard's weapon, a pulse rifle. It was set to incapacitate an enemy rather than kill. The Doctor smirked. Of course it was set on stun; the Palpidron wanted him alive to fight their stupid war. In that he had the advantage. He dragged the dead guard into the room where he had gotten his effects, then re-set the weapon to killing strength. He would have to find the hangar bay to get to a vehicle, so he looked around for a computer access panel to try and find a map. The Time Lord found an access panel after a few minutes and located the hangar bay three levels below his present position. Finding a maintenance duct nearby, he crawled in and began his descent. He wasn't afraid of a fight; he just didn't want to have to bother taking on too many enemies at once.

Upon reaching the hangar bay he stopped to reconnoiter. Several of the shuttles looked to be ready to launch, and there didn't appear to be any guards around. There were technicians and other supply personnel, but he doubted they posed much of a threat. Sneaking out of the maintenance duct, he chose a craft and strode across the hangar bay to get to it.

He encountered little resistance; as he had expected, the creatures here weren't proper guards. He gunned down anyone that got in his way, and eventually the creatures figured out it was in their best interests to lay low. He got aboard the long-range shuttle and completed a brief pre-flight check, then took off. Calling up a navigational chart took seconds, and the Doctor soon found Clovic Beta, the planet he and Jothan had been kidnapped from. He laid in a course for the planet, then mentally prepared himself for another fight once he got there. The Palpidron did not have the technology necessary to harm the TARDIS, but that didn't mean they couldn't have moved it or set an ambush. He also took a minute to take in some of his latest actions. He tried to drum up some real guilt but found he couldn't; the monsters he was dealing with had proved they were deserving of nothing but contempt. He felt a bit uncomfortable about using a pulse rifle on unarmed civilians, but again couldn't produce any real feeling of guilt or shame. They weren't exactly enemies, but they would have captured him in a heartbeat, and then those in charge would have hurt Jothan. That thought did bring up some guilty feelings. He had to abandon his husband to the hands of barbaric animals. The first thing he would do once he got Jothan back and apologized would be to make sure everyone who had a hand in hurting his lover got back what they delivered. He thought of Jothan locked in a cell somewhere, naked and cold and unhappy. He almost wept thinking of it, but then the rage within him resurfaced. He would find the medic and make sure those responsible for his distress were given justice. He would get Jothan back, take care of the Palpidron, and then they would go back to their lives. Turning the engines up to full speed, the Time Lord headed for Clovic Beta.

**********  
Colonel Melleywon did not go down to the hangar bay personally. He should have, but found he didn't have the stomach for it. Five ship techs had died, the Time Lord was gone, and it was all his fault. Eight deaths in all; all attributable to his carelessness. He would not shirk his responsibility; it had been his duty, and he had failed. Had he lived centuries before he would have been expected to perform ritual suicide, but that was during a kinder age. One thing was certain; he had to alert High Command at once. He made contact with General Prillit and wasted no time. “The target has escaped after killing eight individuals. We are tracking the shuttle he stole, and it appears he's heading back to the acquisition point, presumably for his ship. It will take him a few hours to get there ...”

General Prillit sighed heavily. “How did he manage to get off the base in the first place?”

Melleywon stood a little straighter. “I failed to post a guard with him after we fitted his companion with the nerve inducer. He killed two medics, severely injured another, then killed a guard and stole his weapon. After that he made it to the hangar bay and took out five ship techs.”

“We must re-acquire the target as soon as possible—he may return of his own accord as we still have his companion ... I suppose you've lost him as well?”

“No, General. He's currently in the Interrogation Room, awaiting the return of the Time Lord.”

The top military commander sighed again. “So you're going to let that alien sit there unguarded, with his own chance to escape? Didn't you learn anything? Put that creature in the brig immediately. His security should now be your sole focus. Protect him, Melleywon, as you would protect your own life. You can look forward to a court-martial after this is over, but if you can get the target back and on our side, I may be able to overlook the worst of it. Don't lose that alien, Colonel. Don't even dare.”

“I will not fail again, General Prillit.” Melleywon gave a perfect salute.

“See that you don't.” The communication was cut off.

Colonel Melleywon gave orders that the alien was to be placed in a maximum security cell, usually reserved for traitors and prisoners known to be deadly. He then had a brilliant idea. Using the transmat, he sent a platoon of soldiers to the acquisition point and took the Time Lord's craft. He tried transmatting it to the base several times with no success; it just wouldn't move. Then he had another idea. He had the Time Lord's ship carried into a large supply crate and then transmatted the crate. The craft was then in Palpidron control. As an added measure he attached a small tracking device to the vehicle, one not easily found. Pleased with himself, he put the Time Lord ship back on the beach in the supply crate and waited for its owner to arrive.

In three hours the stolen shuttle was found on Clovic Beta. Colonel Melleywon waited with the platoon, ready at any moment for the Time Lord to try and reclaim his property. The beach was patrolled constantly. It was foolproof, the colonel told himself. There weren't even any cities on the planet except underwater dwellers with little technology; the land was completely empty. The Time Lord would be seen coming from miles away, even if he had an army of Davongans on his side. The man would be outnumbered and outgunned. It was the perfect plan.

It was, until the wall of water fully ten feet high hit the beach with more strength behind it than a fleet of interceptors. The whole beach was swept away in the torrent, except for the crate. The colonel and a handful of men survived by being in it when the tidal wave struck. When the water receded, a small water craft popped up close to the remains of the beach and the Time Lord stepped out on the shore. Colonel Melleywon and his men had the element of surprise, as well as the craft itself, and there was no struggle. The Time Lord was taken back into custody, well respected by the guards and the colonel himself. This time there would be no mistakes. Thirty-five men had died, but that was nothing compared to what would die if the Davongans were not defeated. Mellywon gave the man a dose of chotoword immediately, then locked him down. 

************  
The Doctor fumed as he sat in his cell. He should have taken the Mevne up on their offer to launch their own assault on the beach as well as cause the tidal wave. He hadn't wanted the Mevne to die on his behalf though, so he went and fell into the trap he had felt certain he could avoid. He made a promise then and there that he would take the help he was offered next time—if there was a next time it was offered. Now he was a prisoner again and would have to start over. The only good thing about it was that the TARDIS was now close by rather than several parsecs away. 

He was also starting to get a bit concerned. He hadn't seen anyone in over three days; a probe of some kind came out of the wall and gave him an injection every twelve hours. He tried to fight it off the one time, but did not succeed. Other than that, he was completely alone. He had less need for food and water than a human would, but even he would die of dehydration eventually. He wondered what they were waiting for if they needed him so badly for their stupid little war. It also made him concerned about how Jothan was being treated. He knew he would find out sooner or later, probably by watching his husband be tortured, but for now the silence was deafening—and worrying.

************  
Colonel Melleywon paced as he waited for his communication to High Command to go through. He had been worried the last time he had spoken to General Prillit; now he was positively terrified. Facing a court-martial would be bad enough, but if he lost his people the entire war ...  
General Prillit looked annoyed as he came on screen. “What is it, Melleywon? Do you have the Time Lord yet?”

Colonel Melleywon could not keep his voice from shaking. “We re-acquired the target three days ago; lost another thirty-five soldiers doing it, but there's another problem. The Time Lord's companion ... he's sick. The medics think he might be dying. They're doing their best, but ...”

“If that alien dies you will go down in history as the idiot who lost us the most crucial war we have ever faced. Can't you manage to get even _one_ thing right, Colonel? What's wrong with the alien? What did you fools do to it?”

Melleywon stammered as he explained, “The Time Lord ... he said something about a sterile field ... bacteria ...”

General Prillit's voice was controlled and colder than vacuum as he announced, “This is what you are to do. You will take the Time Lord to the alien and provide him with all the medical equipment you have. You will provide him with all the personnel he requires, all the medicines he could want ... all of whatever he asks for. You will also see to it that he is guarded within an inch of his life. Once the alien is well you can go back to using it as a lever to move the Time Lord to our will but for now all that is suspended. The Time Lord knows his companion. Use his knowledge. Also, lower the dose of chotoword for now; we need him as clear-minded as possible without losing control.”

“Understood, sir.”

“One more thing, Melleywon. If we do ever get through this and gain victory, I will make it my personal mission to completely ruin your life. You will be held responsible for the deaths of forty-three of your fellow soldiers, be completely stripped of rank, dishonorably discharged, and hopefully die of shame. Am I quite clear?”

“Yes, General.”

General Prillit waggled his tongue at Melleywon insultingly, then cut the transmission. 

The colonel took a few moments to get himself together, then started implementing the plan. He had the medics set up a care center with everything the Time Lord might want in the way of equipment. He had the transmat team standing by with access to the best hospital supply station in the system. He had the alien washed and brought up to the care center. Finally he went to go get the Time Lord himself.

The man jumped to his feet as the colonel entered the room, but quickly composed himself. “Took you long enough, didn't it? Don't suppose you could supply me with something as basic as, say, water? Will you—”

Colonel Melleywon held up a hand, and the Time Lord shut his mouth.

“We have run into a ... situation,” the colonel confessed. “Your companion is quite ill. We are giving you the chance to save his life. Anything you ask for will be yours. You will be watched at every instant, so do not take advantage of the situation.”

The Time Lord did not speak at first. At last he said in a choked whisper, “Take me to him.”

Colonel Melleywon led the Time Lord to the care center. He said nothing as the man ran over to his companion and kissed him on the forehead. The Time Lord then began barking out orders at an incredible rate. He wanted blood samples taken and scans to be done. He wanted cool water and fever reducers and painkillers and would it hurt to give him a sheet so his companion wasn't lying there in the altogether? The man demanded and directed and pretty soon all the staff had something to do regarding the alien and his care. Then the complaints began. The cot for the alien wasn't soft enough, the water wasn't cold enough, the sheet wasn't long enough, the blood samplers weren't compatible with his blood ...

At last the Time Lord turned to the colonel and told him flatly, “Half the stuff you have here isn't going to do me a bit of good. I need to get aboard my ship and get things from there as well as get my other belongings, the ones that were taken when we were captured. I know you aren't about to let me take Jothan there or anything like that, but I have to get my equipment or he won't make it. I warned you he would pick up some bacteria ...”

“I'm not about to let you in your ship,” the colonel argued.

“If Jothan's going to survive I need a proper medical scanner, proper blood analyzing equipment, proper medications ... all things I have, on my ship. If you don't trust me you can come as well, bring however many guards you want ... they can help carry. I suppose you understand what's going to happen if he dies ...”

“You will probably be more uncooperative than you already are, I'm sure ...”

The Time Lord stopped abruptly, staring down at Melleywon. “If Jothan dies your base, this planet, and your entire race will be nothing but ash and cinders, let alone what I'll do to you personally. Understand?”

Colonel Melleywon turned brown and took an involuntary step backward. “I understand,” he said finally. He now knew why this being was called “The Oncoming Storm”.

In the end he did accompany the Time Lord into his craft. It was an amazing experience, so it was too bad he was in no state to truly appreciate it. The man took several loads of medical equipment out and started a fresh round of tests. He had the alien's bed carried out and placed in the middle of the care center, saying his companion would get better rest. He even went so far as to give the alien clothing, but not before it was thoroughly searched. At last the Time Lord shut the door of his craft, saying, “That's all I need ... for now.”

Colonel Melleywon watched the Time Lord closely over the next few hours, but it certainly seemed that he was not taking advantage of the liberties he had been given. He was in motion continually, checking test results or just pacing, and let no one but himself near the alien unless it was absolutely necessary. At one point he left to use the bathroom giving everyone strict orders not to touch anything, not to do anything big or small, routine or otherwise, until he returned with the guards. He was back within three minutes and glared at everyone like a female over her eggs until he was satisfied that no one had done anything to hurt his companion. He explained that the alien had developed a brain infection after the “deplorable treatment” he had received when the neural inducer was implanted. It rather surprised the colonel that the Time Lord did not try to remove the device, but received his answer when one of the medics timidly asked him the question. “It's too late,” the medic was told curtly. “If I do it now he won't survive.”

The days dragged by. The Time Lord spent his time by his companion's side, clearly disturbed by his friend's unresponsiveness and surly because of the chotoword injections. When he wasn't scanning, analyzing, or ordering people around he was now sitting on the bed, sometimes stroking the alien's hair, sometimes rubbing his back. The man spoke less and less as the time passed, but sometimes the Colonel felt he could almost feel the Time Lord's hatred toward himself and the other staff. The sick alien just lay like a lump. The colonel couldn't see what the Time Lord saw in such a frail creature, but he wasn't stupid enough to ask. In fact, he didn't speak to the Time Lord at all.

On the ninth day Colonel Melleywon contacted High Command to give them another update. “No change in the alien's condition as of yet. The Time Lord barely speaks anymore, he just looks ... I think he truly hates us all.”

“I am hardly surprised,” General Prillit said crisply. “Given the debacle this has turned into, don't be surprised if I offer your head to the Time Lord as an act of appeasement. You have utterly failed at this mission. I would take over myself, but I'm needed here to coordinate the attacks on some of the colony worlds in Sector Three. For now, your orders are to maintain. Hold on to what we have and pray to the gods the alien makes some progress soon.”

“Understood, sir.” Melleywon closed the connection.

It was no longer General Prillit that had Melleywon disturbed. Prillit could only ruin his career. The real fear he felt was toward the Time Lord. He had never been a timid man, but there was something about the man's growing silence that unnerved him. He desperately wished he had never been given this assignment, but as he had he would have to endure. He went back to his quarters, hoping the alien would show signs of improvement before the Time Lord got really angry.

************  
Jothan sighed, turning over in his bed. He had been having a lovely dream, one where the Doctor was staying with him night after night. He snuggled closer to the Time Lord, feeling his cool hands on his back. He was about to go back to sleep when he felt the Doctor move, then heard him say in a surprised voice, “Jothan? You're awake?”

Jothan sat up and looked at the Time Lord. He tried to speak, but his throat was dry and the words ... the words weren't coming. He tried again, but could only manage, “D-D-D-Dog-der?”

“Jothan? What's wrong?”

He attempted to form the words he wanted, but they just weren't coming. He tried and tried, finally coming up with, “No ... n-n-n-no speak good ... D-D-Dog-der, help ... please ...”

The Time Lord was instantly on his feet. “Just stay calm, Love. I'll figure out what's going on. You lie quiet. There's no reason for you to be concerned ...”

His husband brought over a scanner which Jothan recognized as one from the TARDIS. The Doctor used it, then sat back down on the bed, not speaking. Jothan felt nervous; something must be seriously wrong. “Dog-der? Why ... why no speak good? Whad ...”

The Doctor didn't answer at first; he just reached for Jothan's hand and stroked it. Finally he told his lover, “The infection ... it's done some damage to your brain. You should recover with time and proper care, but for now ...”

Jothan could see that the Doctor was horribly upset, so he sat up and gave him a strong hug. “No worry,” he told him, trying to sound cheerful. “Jothan ... bedder soon ... ged b-b-bedder ...”

“It's their fault,” the Doctor said blackly. “These barbarians ... it's all their fault.”

“Jothan ged bedder. Dog-der no sss-sad ...”

The Doctor pulled away from Jothan's embrace, standing again. “I'm going to do a full-body scan. I want to make sure ...” 

He was going to carry Jothan over, but the medic held up a hand. “Jothan ... wand walk ...” 

The Time Lord looked doubtful, but helped him to stand. It took all he had, but he was able to totter over to the scanner and lie down. He lay still as the machine ran its test, then sat up slowly as the Doctor checked the results. “Looks like nothing else is seriously wrong. You'll have to get your strength back, of course ... you've been ill for over a week.”

The medic accepted the Time Lord's help to get back across the room. The frog/men all tried to look busy, but he knew they were watching their every move. It made Jothan very uncomfortable. He pulled the Doctor close and whispered, “Men ... b-b-bad men ssss-sdare ... n-n-no like ...”

“Pay no attention to them, Love. They don't matter.” His tone was pure frost.

Jothan felt a little shiver when the Doctor told him that. Usually the Time Lord tried to see the best in everyone, even their enemies, but now ... He hugged his lover again, telling him, “Jothan ged bedder. D-Dog-der no worry. Dog-der ... wadder? Jothan wand wadder ...”

“I'll get you some. Right now you should rest.” 

Jothan came over and watched as the Doctor rummaged around in a box from the TARDIS, looking for a water bottle. Just then the colonel came into the room. The frog/man took one look at Jothan and popped in his translator. “You have recovered?”

“Hardly,” the Doctor spat back. “He's weak, dehydrated, he has a brain injury—” 

The colonel motioned to the guards. “He walks, he talks. That is all that is required.”

The Doctor flew over to the medic and stood in front of him, shielding him from the soldiers. “If you do this ...”

“You have forgotten yourself for long enough,” Colonel Melleywon stated flatly. “We are the ones in control. You are going to do what we tell you and fight our war. Then you can tend to your precious companion all you desire.” He then stared directly at the Doctor who stared back, not giving any ground.

More guards stepped forward, all of them heavily armed. The Doctor didn't seem to care; he was in a full rage. “You will not touch him. You putrid, paltry excuses of flesh are not about to take him away from me.”

Colonel Melleywon told the Doctor, “Stand aside or we will put out his eyes.” He spit out the translator and waggled his tongue at the Time Lord in some sort of display of dominance.

Jothan moved out from behind the Time Lord, hoping the Doctor wouldn't interfere. He stumbled as he took a step forward, and the colonel said, “You three—take the alien to the Interrogation Room and set him up for a session. The rest of you make sure the Time Lord does not interfere. If he moves, shoot the alien in both eyes with your sidearm.”

Jothan realized that he could now understand the frog/man's words. He wondered if the Time Lord had realized it as well, but he doubted it. He had never seen the Doctor this angry, not when he was bitten by the Ellryl, not when he was facing down the Dalek, not ever. He managed to catch the Doctor's eye as he was hustled away and gave his head a little shake. The Doctor gave him one loving glance, then stared balefully at the colonel. Then Jothan was out the door and traveling down the corridors again.

************  
The Doctor watched the Palpidron slime carry off his lover. There was nothing he could do to stop it or make it better. He knew that if he kept thinking about it he would snap completely, so he looked around the room, his gaze finally settling on the bed. He then said carefully, “I would like to be allowed to return all this to my ship. Then I will go with you to discuss your plans.”

Colonel Melleywon gazed at him for a minute, then waved his hand in dismissal. “As you say. You had better be quick about it; we have a war to run. And no tricks; I meant what I said about your companion's eyes.” 

The frog/man spat out the mouthpiece and told his guards, “Help the Time Lord return his belongings to his craft. While you work, notice as much as you can about the ship itself, especially any weapons it might have, or how it flies. If he makes any move to escape disable him and let me know.”

The Time Lord moved all the equipment and furnishings back to the TARDIS with the help of the guards. He had hoped that the task would cool his anger, but it ended up having little effect. He would make them regret it, he promised himself. Every blow, every mistreatment, every pinprick they gave Jothan would be catalogued and paid for, preferably with blood. He had not felt this way about any living being since the Battle of Arcadia, and he didn't care. The best course of action would be to play along at first, and then his true feelings could be dealt with. Now was not the time or place for anger. That would have to come later.

As the frog/men put Jothan's bed back in his room, the Doctor realized for the first time that he could understand the Palpidrons' speech. He had not noticed before, but it made perfect sense; they were now in range of the TARDIS, and her translation circuits were working just as they should. He thought about how this new advantage could work to his favor, but came up with nothing. It might come into play at some point, but for now it was useless information. The frog/men weren't talking about anything important, just commenting on how heavy the bed was and what they planned to do once they were off-duty for the shift.

At last everything was back aboard the ship, except the Doctor's leather jacket. The Time Lord came out of his craft and was not surprised to find Colonel Melleywon waiting for him. The frog/man motioned to one of the guards, saying, “Have a medic administer the full dose of chotoword. Then put the Time Lord in a maximum security cell, after two of you search him thoroughly for anything. If he has weapons, scraps of paper, if he has micro-fleas, I expect you to find them and remove them. I want him stripped down to the bone. Oh, and leave your weapons outside the cell; I don't want him getting one and you should be more than able to control him without. If you're not, I'll reassign you to cleaning the hangar bays with your tongues.” 

The guard snapped a salute, then took the Doctor by the arm. He momentarily considered making them carry him, but remembered the colonel's threat and cooperated. He didn't want these stunted slugs to do so much as look at his husband. The medic injected him with whatever drug they were using, and the guards pushed him to the door. He walked quietly enough to the cell and endured a humiliating, very intrusive search of his person, more like a rape than a search. Once the guards were satisfied they opened the door of the cell. The room was literally empty; there were four walls and a floor. The Time Lord was pushed into the room and the door closed.

The Doctor sat cross-legged on the floor and decided to attempt meditation to calm his thoughts. He tried for forty minutes then gave it up; he just couldn't get centered. He lay flat on his back in the middle of the room, trying not to think of what they might be doing to Jothan. He couldn't help it; all he could think of was that horrible colonel shooting Jothan in the eyes or putting him in agony. He suddenly burst into tears, unable to control his emotions. What could he do? He didn't want to fight anyone's war like some mercenary for hire, but what choice did he have? If he refused the Palpidron would hurt Jothan and might even kill him, and if that happened ...

The Time Lord sobbed for exactly eleven minutes and eighteen seconds, then forced himself to stop. This wasn't helping anything. He had to think, had to plan what he should do. Presumably they would take him out of the cell at some point, and he would have to be ready, would need to have something in mind. The harder he tried to think, the more his mind focused on his lover and what the foul Palpidron might be doing to him. Finally exhaustion took over and he fell asleep.

************  
Colonel Melleywon waited four hours before he called for the guards to bring the Time Lord to the Interrogation Room. He hadn't wanted to waste that much time, but General Prillit had been adamant that the torture not be started too early. Besides, he did not expect the Time Lord to give in very easily, especially not in the first session. This was mostly to provide a show of force and, if he admitted it to himself, to punish the man for his earlier defiance. Melleywon was not normally a cruel person, but he relished the idea of making the Time Lord suffer.

The guards arrived with their prisoner. He was pleased to see they had taken no chances; the Time Lord had thick wrist and ankle shackles on and was naked. “Any trouble?” he asked.

“None, sir,” the soldier replied, as he secured the Doctor to the metal chair.

Suddenly the Time Lord spoke, his voice trembling. “You don't need to do this. If you stop now and leave Jothan alone I promise I will cooperate. Just don't ... don't hurt him, please ...”

“I don't believe you, Time Lord. You will witness the power we have over you and your companion. Then we will talk about the war effort.” The colonel took a device out of his uniform and pointed it at the glass. “The session will begin.”

Colonel Melleywon left the room an hour later in the best mood he had been in for quite a while. As he had expected the Time Lord did not make a sound after his first plea for mercy. The alien companion had held out on screaming longer than he would have supposed, but he broke about forty minutes in and Melleywon was glad. He decided he would do one more session just to show who was in control, and then he would start to question the Time Lord on the best course of action to take against the Davongan filth. He thought of heading to his quarters, then decided to inform High Command first. He went to the Communication Center and within minutes was updating General Prillit. “The alien woke today. I started the torture sessions accordingly.”

The general frowned. “Already? Was the alien healthy enough for such a venture?”

Melleywon shrugged. “He was walking and talking, so ...”

“Don't do another session until he's had a chance to recover properly,” the general ordered. “You'll get better results that way. What was the Time Lord's reaction?”

“I had him begging for mercy before the session even started,” the colonel said smugly.

“You what?!? Are you telling me that the Time Lord offered his services before you began the torture and you did it anyway?”

Melleywon tried to explain. “I didn't trust—”

The general cut him off, his tongue writhing in his mouth. “In my years of service I've had people under me that were stupid, insubordinate, full of themselves, and flat out incompetent, but of all of them you have proved yourself to be the absolute worst. Do you even have two neurons firing up there in your worthless skull? We had _just_ what we wanted—the Time Lord's cooperation—and you _botched_ it! As of this moment you are relieved of command and demoted to Cadet First Class. Tell your XO I want to see him and that you are to be confined to quarters until I can get there myself and see what I can salvage of this operation. You may very well have cost us this war, Cadet Melleywon, all so you could get a few stings in at the one person we needed cooperation from the most. I can't even kill you, because I might need you as a peace offering! Now get out of my sight and send me your replacement. I will be there in sixteen hours.”

Melleywon retreated, praying to the gods that he would not be given to the Time Lord.

************  
Captain Prizdeth came out of the secure transmission booth in a hurry, several things on his mind. The first duty he had was to secure the former colonel and have him escorted to his quarters, keeping him well guarded. The general had been very clear on what would happen to the captain personally if Melleywon ended up dead. The second order of business was to ascertain the condition of the alien. He waited for the medic's report and was dismayed to find that the creature was unconscious again. He told the specialist, “Nurse him back to health, quickly. General Prillit wants him in top condition when he arrives. Get him a cot to sleep on and make sure he has regular food and water. Treat him well and above all, don't antagonize him. We need him as much as we need the Time Lord.” 

Next the captain decided to speak with the Time Lord himself. He knew it was a dangerous risk, but somebody would have to hand out the first olive branch and the general had been most insistent that someone inform the Time Lord that Melleywon was no longer in charge. Prizdeth was very worried he might not survive the encounter, but he was prepared to die for his planet if it meant his people could secure victory against the Davongans. 

He reached the cell and told the guards, “I am now in command. Let me in to see the Time Lord but don't interfere, no matter what happens. If I am killed just leave the door shut until General Prillit arrives and tell Captain Ooshander she is to take over in my place.” Once he had given his instructions he said a quick prayer to the gods and stepped into the cell.

The Time Lord was lying on the floor, eyes closed. He didn't move when the door was opened and Prizdeth entered the room, but the captain knew the creature could strike at any moment. “I am Captain Prizdeth, and I'm here to let you know that Colonel Melleywon has been relieved of command. In a few hours General Prillit will arrive and take over the operation. I want ... I apologize for what was done to your companion; we never meant ...”

The man still didn't move. 

Captain Prizdeth then made an executive decision, hoping to placate the man they needed. “I'm willing to put you and the alien together for a while, at least until his health improves. We don't know how to care for him as well as you do.”

Now the Time Lord sat up. Prizdeth looked him in the eye but turned away nearly at once. He thought he had never seen such a look of loathing on a creature's face before. Prizdeth went to the door and rapped twice. The guards came in and placed the Time Lord in full restraints again. They then went to where the alien was being held.

Two of the medics were just about to lift the alien to a cot when they came in. The Time Lord hurried up to one of them and tried to grab the tech by the arm. “Don't you butchers touch him!” he spat savagely.

One of the guards stepped up with his weapon but Prizdeth waved him back. “Let him be. And you,” he motioned to the other guard, “release him from the restraints.”

Once the restraints were off the Time Lord gently slid the alien onto the cot. Without looking at any of them the man said, “He'll need a blanket. He gets cold without a blanket.”

Captain Prizdeth said quietly, “We will bring you one shortly. Is there anything else you need right now?”

The Time Lord still wouldn't look at them. “Water, and food.”

“Both will be provided.” The captain motioned to his staff, and they all left the room.

************  
Jothan was unconscious when the Doctor arrived in the cell where he was held. Two of the Palpidron were just about to pick the medic up. The Time Lord intervened in the only way he could; he rushed at them as quickly as possible, yelling, “Don't you butchers touch him!”

They stopped, looking fearful. Good. They should be afraid, every one of them. He didn't even feel bad about it. One of the guards took off his restraints and let them fall to the floor. As soon as he was released the Time Lord gently lifted his lover to the cot. He felt Jothan's cool skin and told them, “He'll need a blanket. He gets cold without a blanket.”

The new one in charge said he would get one, and asked what else they would need. The Doctor saw that there were no provisions and replied, “Water, and food.”

The new leader said it would be provided, and then all of the frog/men left the room. The Doctor didn't care whether they stayed or not; he had more important things to be worrying about. His husband didn't seem to be in distress, but wouldn't wake. He wasn't sure when they last had given him food or, more importantly, water. The Doctor had tried to keep Jothan hydrated through intravenous fluids while he was ill, but that could only do so much. 

He then noticed that the fools had left the restraints in the room. He snatched them up and shoved them as far under the cot as he could, hoping no one would notice. There was nothing else to do but wait. He sat crossed-legged by Jothan's side and tried again to meditate.

In about fifteen minutes someone came with two blankets, a crate of water bottles, and what looked to be food. The Doctor checked it over, then sighed. It was doubtful Jothan would want to eat it, which meant the Time Lord might have to force him. That was the last thing in the world the older man wanted. What he wouldn't do to have his jacket back; he was sure he could find something for Jothan to eat in his practically endless pockets. He set the food aside, tucked Jothan in, and waited. 

The younger man woke after two hours, thirty-seven minutes, and nine seconds. The Time Lord had been gently rubbing his companion's back when he started to stir. The Doctor stopped and told Jothan quietly, “There's plenty of water if you're thirsty.”

The young man rolled over then sat up slowly and looked at the Time Lord. “Please wadder,” he croaked.

The Doctor handed him a bottle. “Drink it slowly, Love. Small sips at first. You haven't had anything in your stomach for a long while.”  
Jothan started out all right, but then he began gulping the water down in great mouthfuls. The Doctor had to grab the bottle out of his hands to get him to stop. “You'll make yourself sick, Jothan! Slow down; it's not going anywhere.”

Jothan looked angry at first, but then his expression softened to one of affection. “Dog-der love Jothan. D-D-Dog-der care. More wadder?”

“Not now, Love. Let that settle first. Are you warm enough?”

“Yes, Jothan have ... have ... have warmies.” The younger man looked very frustrated.

The Doctor tried to calm his husband. “Don't focus on what you can't say, Love. Just do your best to express yourself however you have to. You can always use your—” 

“No say!” Jothan warned. “And nod work now, cannod.”

“You're right,” the Doctor replied, ashamed of himself. He knew better than to point out possible advantages to their enemies, and telepathy could give them a great advantage indeed. He put the water bottle down next to the cot.

“Jothan wand eed. Dog-der have ... have eed?”

The Time Lord picked up a container of food. “Here's some for you to try.”

Jothan took a small taste then pushed the box away. “Nasss-dy. No wand.”

“You need food Jothan, even if it is unpleasant. You have to get your strength back; you haven't had anything solid in a long while. I'll let you try everything to see what works the best, but like it or not you will eat something.”

The medic muttered under his breath, then sighed. “Jothan ... Jothan dry Dog-der dry.”

“We both will try.” The Time Lord picked up another box.

Jothan was right; the food was vile, and the Time Lord didn't want to know what any of it was. Still he made himself eat it, for Jothan's sake. Jothan would take a bite then wash it down with the water, so the older man knew his companion would be re-hydrated soon. When the meal was finished the medic gave a sigh of relief. “Eed all gone. Wand ... w-w-w-wand ... w-w-wand nide-nide.”

“You're sleepy?” the Doctor asked. “You want to go to sleep?”

The medic nodded. “Yes.” He lay back down in the bed.

The Time Lord tucked his lover in, then sat down as close to the cot as he could, stroking Jothan's hair. He wondered if he could get his husband a proper bath at some point. He dismissed that from his mind with a quick shake of his head. Bathing could wait. They had to escape from this room, find the TARDIS, and most importantly, have revenge on the cruel, disgusting amphibians that were currently holding them captive. The Doctor felt his anger returning. They didn't just want him to fight their petty war; the colonel's torture of Jothan proved that. They wanted a slave, something the Time Lord flat out refused to be. If they really only wanted him as a military expert they never would have hurt his lover. 

The Doctor balled his hands into fists. He was not a religious person, but had he been a believer he would have been begging his deity to annihilate the Palpidron and have their atoms blown through the cosmos. Seeing as he could not call on a god, he made a vow that he would do it himself.

************


	2. Chapter 2

End Game  
Chapter 2

Jothan woke abruptly from his dream and sat up, unsure where he was for a moment. Then he saw a naked Doctor sitting by the side of his cot, meditating. Jothan watched him for a bit, then lay back down. The Doctor would not “awaken” from his state until he was ready or was violently disturbed, so there was no use in the medic's trying to talk to him. He reached for the bottle of water and drank some a sip at a time, remembering what the Time Lord had said about drinking too fast.

He heard a noise as the door opened and watched as three people came into the cell. Two were guards and the third had a syringe of some sort. The guards stood at the door while the frog/man with the syringe came over to the motionless Time Lord.

Jothan couldn't help asking, “Whad bad men d-d-d-do?”

The frog/man put in his translator and answered, “This is a toxin known as chotoword. It will make the Time Lord more prideful, more emotional, more angry and willing to fight. It will also make him more attached to you. Once the treatment is complete he will be more than happy to rid the galaxy of the web-weaving Davongans once and for all.”

Jothan shivered, and not from being cold. “Ch-change Dog-der always?”

The frog/man delivered the toxin and told him, “No one knows.”

The medic wondered if these people were deranged, or just stupid. “Bad men no think Dog-der be angry bad men firsd?”

“That is what the guards are for.” The frog/men left.

Jothan put his hand on the Doctor's head, feeling very concerned. These people didn't have a clue what they were getting into. If they brought out the Doctor's dark side they might live to regret it, but only if they were lucky. He knew the Time Lord was already on the edge of truly frightening wrath. If he lost control ...

Hours and hours later the Doctor came out of his meditative state and looked over at his husband. “Did I miss anything important?”

Jothan tried to make his explanation make sense, furious that he could not speak properly to tell his lover what had happened. “Bad mmm-men give bad Dog-der. Give make Dog-der sick. D-D-D-Dog-der no be good; Dog-der be sick.”

The Time Lord looked concerned. “They're trying to poison me? All those injections?”

Jothan nodded. “Yes! Bad men w-w-wand bad Dog-der. Wand Dog-der make ... wand make Dog-der make bye-bye.”

The Doctor shook his head, clearly confused. “They want me to escape, to go away?”

“No. Bad men wand ... Dalek bye-bye. Dalek make b-b-b-bye-bye Nugents, Dog-der make Dalek bye-bye. Want mmm-make Dog-der bad.”

“They want me to kill? Kill their enemies?”

The medic nodded vigorously. “Bad men w-w-w-wand make Dog-der make bye-bye. Make Dog-der sick, make a-a-angry.” He reached out and took his husband's hand, wondering how safe he would be if the Doctor's fury were unleashed.

The Time Lord looked panicked. “I need to get you away, to somewhere safe. I don't want you hurt, not again ...”

“Bad men ss-say Dog-der lov-v-v-e Jothan more. Jothan no think.”

The Doctor's hands were trembling a little. “I don't either,” he whispered. 

Jothan reached out to hug the Doctor. “Jothan love Dog-der. Jothan wand Dog-der good. Dog-der no speak bad men, no look bad men, no do bad when bad men come.”

“I'll try, Love, but they ... they have to be punished. They're nothing but butchers, and they deserve whatever they get. They—” 

Jothan was shaking his head violently. “No, Dog-der, no! Bad speak. Dog-der good. Bad men only bad men, not monnn-sders. Dog-der no need punish. Dog-der good.”

The Doctor was sweating, his fists balled up and his jaw clenched. Jothan knew the situation was getting out of control, and he could only think of one thing to do. He slid off the cot and sat facing the Time Lord. He kissed him roughly on the mouth, then whispered, “No think. N-n-n-no plan. Jusd feel. Dog-der feel.”

His distraction worked for about twenty minutes. Then the soldiers came in again, one with the next dose of poison. The Doctor hissed sharply as they entered the room, pushing his lover to the side. Jothan tried blocking their way, telling them, “No do! Dog-der hurd if do. Dog-der no want hurd ... bad men go 'way. Bad men go now!”

The Doctor was scrabbling for something under Jothan's cot. The medic had no idea what might be about to happen, but it certainly wasn't looking good for anyone. Again he tried to warn the Palpidron, crying out, “Go 'way! No be here now. Dog-der hurd bad men. Go 'way!”

Just then, one of the guards did the worst possible thing he could—he aimed his weapon and fired at Jothan, just missing him. Jothan dropped down and crawled behind the crate of water bottles, scared for his life. 

************  
The Time Lord whipped the restraints out from under the cot just as Jothan hit the floor. The guard that had fired leveled his weapon at the Doctor, but he lashed out with the restraints, hitting the Palpidron squarely in the knee. He screamed and went down. The Doctor then grabbed at the Palpidron with the syringe and threw him into the second guard as he was firing his weapon. The tech crumpled onto the second guard and got hung up on the guard's gun. That gave the Doctor the opportunity to hit the soldier full in the head with the shackles. He gave two heavy blows, hit the soldier with the syringe twice, then went back to the first guard. He used the chain of the ankle restraints to strangle the frog/man, holding tightly until the struggling stopped. Only then did he feel Jothan's hands on his arms trying to stop him. 

He let go, hands shaking. Jothan was crying, babbling about something, but the Time Lord couldn't hear the words through his wrath. He reached out for Jothan and hugged him tightly. The medic panicked at first, trying to get away, but the Doctor just held on until his lover stopped squirming and returned the embrace. Finally he could hear his husband chanting, “Dog-der good. Dog-der no bad no more. Dog-der good ...”

“I'm ... I'm all right now, Love. You weren't hurt?”

“Jothan n-n-no hurd.”

The Doctor could see that his companion was trembling a little. “It's all right, Jothan; it's over. You're safe.”

The medic was shaking his head. “No over,” he protested. “Dog-der sick ... bad ...”

“I'm not going to hurt you, Love, and that's all that matters.”

“Nod!” the younger man insisted. “Dog-der do bad. Bad men punish Jothan, Dog-der angry more, Dog-der more bye-bye. Dog-der musd go 'way. Dog-der run.”

The Doctor's wrath flared again simply at the thought. “Do you think for a moment that I'm going to leave you here with these filthy animals? Are you mad?”

“Musd go! Bad men find, bad men punish, Dog-der a-a-angry more. No! Dog-der find the Dar-diss, come back no angry, ged Jothan.”

The Doctor wasn't in the mood to listen. “I'm not leaving you in the hands of these scum. You're coming with me. We're both leaving, right now!”

Jothan shakily got to his feet. “How find Dar-diss? Where look?”

The Time Lord answered, “Last I knew she was in that care center they set up.” 

The medic sighed. “Where key? Key small, not easy find. How—” 

“The key is still in my jacket pocket, which was in the same room where the TARDIS was. With any luck it's still there. All we have to do is get back there without anyone knowing.” The Doctor went over to one of the bodies and picked up a discarded weapon.

Jothan gave the Time Lord a withering glare. “Dog-der no dake. No need.”

“They're not going to let us waltz out of here, Jothan ...”

The medic stubbornly sat down on the floor where he was. “Dog-der dake, Jothan no go.”

The Time Lord glared at his companion for a long moment, but put the gun down when he saw that Jothan was adamant. “All right,” he said at last, “we'd better be going.”

They made their way through the corridors as quickly as they could. It must have been during the Palpidron “night”; they encountered no one, to the Time Lord's great relief. He was in a state where he felt so angry he probably would have taken on a Dalek with his bare hands. These creatures were nothing. They deserved nothing but contempt. If it weren't for his lover he would incinerate the whole base and not bat an eyelash, but he couldn't. Not when Jothan would get upset. His husband had been through enough in the past days, and the Doctor was determined to not add to the younger man's stress. The medic had been tortured, brain-damaged, starved ... 

The Doctor clenched his hands into fists, partly filled with fury and partially wanting to cry. He loved Jothan so much, and had been unable to protect him when it came to it. He had failed miserably in his duties as a husband, as a person. He ...

“Dog-der?” Jothan reached out and took his hand. “Dog-der no angry ... Jothan love Dog-der, Dog-der good. D-D-Dog-der no ssss-sad.”

He choked up a bit, but somehow managed to stay under control. He saw what he thought was the door and stopped. “Let me go first, Love. They want me alive, so they won't dare damage me ...”

Jothan nodded, letting go of the Time Lord's hand. Carefully, the Doctor triggered the door and cautiously took a peek. The room was empty of Palpidron. The Doctor slipped in, with Jothan right behind. The Time Lord scooped up his jacket and motioned for the medic to go to the door. He fished in his pocket for the key and got it at the first try. He unlocked the TARDIS and gave Jothan a little push, then stepped in himself.

************  
General Prillit cut the transmission from the base where he was headed and sighed, rubbing the top of his head between his eyes. Yet again the Time Lord had escaped through carelessness and inefficiency. He thanked the gods that Melleywon had done something useful before everything had fallen apart; there was a way to track the man's ship. When Prillit got to the base he fully intended to tie some tongues in knots until people started using their brains. What idiot would unlock a set of restraints and just leave them there for a prisoner to grab? Who wouldn't place extra guards outside a cell holding a murdering enemy? And that was just the tip of the iceberg of gaffes and failures that had taken place with the Time Lord. 

Prillit rolled and unrolled his tongue in thought. All they could hope for was that the target wouldn't travel in time; if he did, all hope was lost. If they did manage to re-acquire the Time Lord there were going to be safeguards upon safeguards regarding his management. There would be at least two armed soldiers continually. The chotoword would be scaled back to make the Time Lord less bloodthirsty. Most important of all, the alien companion would be persuaded that the Time Lord's involvement in the war was in their best interests. If they could convince the alien to join in, the Time Lord would naturally follow. The Time Lord clearly had a special attachment to his companion, and the general meant to take advantage of it if he possibly could.

Two more hours, the general thought. Two more hours and he would be able to take control of the disaster that was now in front of him. He prayed to the gods that there would still be an opportunity to salvage the operation, but kept his hopes at a low level. Probably the Time Lord was already out of reach, but if there were any chance ...

Two more hours.

************  
Jothan smiled as he sat down on the jump seat. “Where g-g-go now?” he asked.

The Time Lord was twisting dials and setting controls. “We're going back to Clovic Beta; I need to thank the Mevne properly and it'll be a good place for you to start recovering.”

“Dog-der fix Jothan?”

“I'm hoping so. The Mevne may have some medical techniques that can help, and there's what we have on the TARDIS ... I'm optimistic that within a month, you'll be back to normal.”

Jothan tried not to look too disappointed. He had thought his recovery would be a matter of hours, certainly not as long as a month. “We sssss-sday all dime?”

The Doctor shook his head. “No,” he answered. “We'll only be there for a week or so. That'll give your neurons time to recover and make new connections. Then you'll just have to be patient until the process is complete.”

Jothan was worried about one thing. “Whad ... whad happen think-think? Come back?”

The Doctor looked up from the instrument panel he was checking. “You mean your telepathy?”

The medic nodded. 

“I may be wrong, but I think that's because of the neural inducer. Once that's out you should be perfectly fine.”

Jothan gave a sigh of relief. “Good ... Jothan miss think-think.” He sat quietly for a bit, then asked hesitantly, “Dog-der still wand hurd b-b-b-bad men?”

Now it was the Time Lord's turn to sigh. “I know what you want me to do, Jothan, but ... I really ... I'm not able to put it behind me, not right at the moment. What they did to you was—”

The medic shook his head. “Bad men gone, Dog-der. No hurd Jothan no more; no hurd Dog-der no more. Musd ... musd llll-led go.”

“I can't. I'm sorry, Love ... I just can't.”

“Dog-der still poison,” Jothan said decisively. “Dog-der bedder soon. Dog-der no angry no more soon. Dog-der good.”

He meant what he had told his husband, Jothan thought; the Time Lord must still be under the power of the drug the frog/men were using. The Doctor he knew would never be vindictive or solve his problems with a weapon. He had been seriously concerned when they were on the Palpidron base, but he was sure the Time Lord would get back on an even keel with time and patience. There were many things his lover was and was not, and vengeful was definitely a “not”.

The Doctor told his companion, “I'm not leaving the TARDIS out on the beach again; that was just a bad idea. We're going straight to the capital city; I'm sure they won't mind. They'll want to do a ceremony, but it shouldn't take long ...”

Jothan was curious. “Whad kind ... no c-c-can say ... Mevne have pardy thank Dog-der?”

“The Mevne believe strongly in paying debts. I'm hoping that they'll see their helping me as paying off what they think they owe us, and that means a ceremony. If not, well ... they'll get over it in time, I'm certain ...”

The medic was doubtful of that; most races that had contact with the Doctor had long memories, enemy or friend. “Mevne not sdop think Dog-der. Mevne wand thank Dog-der good, have big pardy?”

“If they consider the debt paid then yes, the ceremony will be something special.”

The TARDIS landed and the Doctor stepped out first. Jothan came behind and saw that a group of people had already gathered. One person in the crowd called out, “The Savior! The Savior has come to bless us yet again! Someone inform the Senators; they'll want to know right away.”

Jothan came up to the Doctor and whispered, “Maybe no pardy, maybe no finish.”

The Doctor waved to the throng. “No need for thanks,” he told those assembled. “You already did me a great service by creating that tidal wave ...” 

Those assembled weren't having any of it; there were chants of “Savior!” and “The Special One!” filling the square as more and more people came to see what was going on. Jothan pressed his back up against the TARDIS door; he was not a fan of big crowds, and this one was growing by the minute. The Doctor seemed to recognize his apprehension; he told the medic, “You can go back in and I can come for you once this lot's gone ...”

Jothan wished he could, but he didn't want to leave the Doctor alone until he was sure he was back to normal again. “Jothan sday ... people n-n-no hurd ...”

The Time Lord took his hand and gave it a squeeze, telling him, “No one's about to do anything to you, Love. They wouldn't dare ...”

The medic was just about to speak when a company of guards in full regalia came through and made a path through the throng. One of them came up to the Doctor and said, “The Senators request your presence in the Council Arena. This way, if you please ...”

The mass of people followed behind at a respectful distance as Jothan and the Time Lord made their way to the Arena, which was like a coliseum. The Senators were hastily assembling in their front seats as Jothan and his husband approached, the crowd filling in the seats at the back and sides. Jothan felt very uncomfortable knowing how many people were watching him. The first time they had come everyone was too interested in saving the kelp beds to pay attention to him, but now ...

After fifteen minutes the senator presiding over the meeting called out, “Doctor, savior of our world, please come forward with your most blessed companion Jothan.”

Jothan groaned inside; if they were taking this attitude already, there was no chance they considered the debt paid. That meant trouble. The Doctor didn't like being fawned over, and in his current emotional state he might get annoyed with them very quickly. He breathed a sigh of relief when the Time Lord answered cheerfully enough, “Thank you, people of Clovic Beta. I find myself in need of aid. My companion has been the victim of brutal treatment at the hands of some barbaric scum. I beg for your help to restore him to full health. If you would be able to assist in this, your debt to me would be paid in full ...”

The senators turned their backs and whispered amongst themselves for a few minutes, then turned back to Jothan and the Doctor. “The restoring of one life hardly seems payment of what we owe you, but we would be thrilled at the chance to assist you in any way we can. You will have the best healers, the best accommodations, all you could ask for. Be at ease here, Doctor; you are accepted among us for as long as you wish, as is your companion. Please wait here while we arrange for transport for both of you to our most advanced medical facility ...”

The Doctor gave a short bow to the senators, and Jothan followed suit. The mass of people in the arena started cheering and waving their arms. The Doctor turned and waved again, then put an arm around Jothan and whispered in his ear, “Now this is a proper way to treat a Time Lord.”

Alarm bells rang in Jothan's head. Since when did the Doctor care about his popularity or think he deserved special treatment? Whatever the Palpidron had been using had made some definite, worrisome changes to the Doctor's personality. The medic was very concerned, and made up his mind to stay close to the Time Lord to see that he didn't get out of hand. It looked like this situation with the frog/men was far from over. 

Before he could make plans of exactly what to do, he saw a group of Mevne dressed in neon orange jumpsuits rushing up, holding what looked like recording devices. They came to within ten feet of the Doctor and Jothan and started peppering them with questions. One called out, “How long will you be with us, Savior?” Another asked, “Jothan, what sort of medical assistance do you require? How ill are you?” 

The press started trying to shout over each other, pressing closer and closer. The Doctor put up both hands and said sternly, “No more questions. I will be willing to give a full statement to the press once my husband has started to recover, but I won't have you hounding me, or bothering him. Now, if you'll excuse us ...”

The guards were starting to cut through the mob of reporters, and the two were hustled away with the reporters still calling out questions behind them. Jothan took a deep breath and queried, “Musd Jothan speak press?” 

The Doctor took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Not now, Jothan. All you need to do is get well. And I won't tell them anything you don't want me to.”

“Dog-der speak whad D-D-Dog-der wand. Jothan no wand speak many people, many people sdare. No ... no fish in ... in thing with wadder.”

“I won't put you on display, Love. Maybe you would feel comfortable talking to just one or two reporters in time, but right now let's just get you to the hospital and see what we're dealing with.”

“Whad do Dar-diss?” Jothan wanted to know.

“Once I see where they're taking us and you get settled in I'll go get her.”

The two travelers were escorted by guards to a luxurious ground transport. They got in and as they were leaving one of the guards told them, “Savior, your craft will be guarded until you can return for it.”

“Thanks,” the Doctor told him.

Jothan looked around them, a little surprised by the opulence. The seats felt silky-soft, there was a refrigerator and a bowl of fresh fruit, along with what seemed to be a view-screen. The medic checked in the fridge and pulled out two containers of what looked to be water. The younger man passed one over to the Doctor, telling him, “Jothan have wadder ... wand drink.”

“That's a good idea,” his lover responded. “You're probably still dehydrated.”

The water was wonderful, but Jothan remembered to drink it slowly. “Dog-der wand eed?” he asked once his water was gone.

“None for me, Love, but you should get something in your system.”

Jothan looked at the fruit, several of which were shaped like jelly doughnuts. “Whad this?” he asked the Doctor, picking one out of the bowl.

“It's a tulwey,” the Time Lord replied. “You'll need to spit out the seeds but the rest is edible.”

Jothan took an experimental bite. The fruit was a bit chewy and had a slightly sour taste. He spit out a hard brown seed, then took another bite. “Eed good,” he decided.

“I wouldn't eat more than two,” the Doctor warned. “They can be hard to digest. We'll get you a proper meal when we can, Jothan.”

After about an hour the vehicle stopped. The medic was dismayed, but not surprised to find a huge mob of people waiting for them, with guards already in place. There were shouts of “Savior!” and “The Special One!” along with people shouting his own name. The Doctor grinned and waved, but kept one hand in Jothan's. At last they were inside and the two could relax a bit.

They were checked in, led to an examination room, and immediately the Doctor took charge. Specialists arrived and began conferring with the Time Lord, while test after test was completed. Jothan felt like he was nothing more than a lab rat, but at last the Doctor came over and told him, “Here's the plan, Love. They don't have the best technology here, so it's going to be a bit primitive. We take out the neural inducer first; I'm not sure of its range and it's interfering with your normal brain activity. Once we see how much that helps we'll have to remove the damaged parts of your brain altogether, then let it re-grow using neuro-stimulation and some neuron-growing medications. It's going to take a bit longer than I promised, and it's not as high-tech a solution as I would like, but we only have to stay until the new growth is well in hand. Once we get to that stage we're free to go.”

“Mevne have pardy soon?”

The Time Lord shook his head. “I don't know when they might complete the ceremony. Are you ready for them to take out the inducer, or do you need some time?”

Jothan thought for a bit, then answered, “Dake out now; wand think-think back.”

The Doctor stroked his hand. “I thought you would. They'll set up right away.” He stood up.

“D-Dog-der sday?”

The Time Lord looked surprised. “Are you scared, Love?”

The medic quickly debated his answer over in his mind. He wasn't frightened at all and didn't want to lie, but he wanted the Doctor close so he could keep an eye on him. Jothan put a little quiver in his voice, a certain worried look in his eye, and said slowly, “Jothan ... Jothan wand Dog-der.”

It worked; the Time Lord took his hand again and told him cheerfully, “There's no reason to be scared, but I'll stay right here until you wake up. Now, let's get these clothes off and pop you into something for the surgery; I don't want any risk of infection this time.”

Jothan allowed his lover to baby him a bit; he felt that anything that kept the Doctor absorbed in something other than himself was a good course of action at this point. He was gowned and prepped in minutes, and was out mere seconds after being given the anesthetic. His last conscious thought was a hope that the Doctor would be well soon.

************  
The Doctor watched, gowned and masked this time, while the Mevne surgeons removed the neural inducer from the base of Jothan's brain stem. One of the doctors told him, “There's no damage to speak of; he should have no complications from our removal of the device. We recommend waiting at least sixty hours before we do the second operation ...”

The Time Lord nodded. He knew Jothan would want to be healed as quickly as possible, but there was no sense rushing through and doing something wrong. If they were sure that the neural inducer's effects were gone they would have a clearer picture of just how much damage the infection had caused, which would mean a quicker recovery time. The less brain tissue they had to remove the less they would have to re-grow.

The Doctor let the Mevne transfer Jothan from the operating room to a lavish suite clearly set aside for the most important of VIP's. One needed a passkey to enter that wing of the hospital. There was a nurse monitoring everything, a doctor was available at a moment's notice, and they had every amenity one could think of. The Doctor was pleased. He had no trouble accepting the adulation of the Mevne, but more importantly they were treating Jothan well, too. After all, Jothan was the one that mattered. Already books were piling up on the table by the young man's bedside; it was traditional for Mevne to give books to those who were sick. The Doctor sat in a comfortable chair by his lover, stroking his hand, waiting. He really wanted to be conferring with the specialists on the next stage of Jothan's treatment, but the young man had asked him to stay, so he would. He gazed fondly at his husband, glad that fate had given him such a wonderful mate.

Within three hours of Jothan's move to the suite there were at least thirty reporters waiting for news. The hospital staff weren't so stupid as to let them in; they just informed the Doctor of their presence. The Time Lord was a bit annoyed at the interruption, but remembered quickly that the hospital staff were not at fault, and that Jothan was bound to be very popular with the Mevne. The Doctor himself might be unapproachable given his prominence, but the medic was another story. He decided to send them a message. “Tell the press that I am staying with Jothan until he wakes and is feeling better. I will make a short statement at that time, but on no account are they to try to contact my husband without going through me. He's very shy and doesn't want to be made much of. If they behave I might be able to talk him into a single interview with one lucky reporter, but that's only if we aren't harassed.”

Just then a second nurse came into the room with a message from the Mevne senators. The Doctor read the note and sighed; Jothan wasn't going to be pleased by the news. The senators had decided that since the kelp beds were where the next generation's eggs were grown, not only did the present generation owe them, but also the generation after. This meant that the debt was practically unpayable unless some cataclysmic situation occurred. The Doctor didn't care, but he knew that his lover would feel very uncomfortable. He set the note aside and turned his attention back to his sleeping companion. Just then he had an idea of something that might cheer the young man. He got the attention of the nurse and asked, “Is there any way I could get some chocolate for Jothan?”

“Get what, sir?”

“Chocolate,” the Doctor repeated. “It's Jothan's favorite.”

The nurse said slowly, “Chocolate is a controlled substance here ... the caffeine and all ... you would have to get one of the doctors to write a prescription for it, and even then ...”

The Time Lord was getting annoyed again. “Well, call in your doctor and have them give me what I need so my husband can be happy. It can't be all that difficult.”

The nurse headed for the door. “I'll find Dr. Bapquerac; she's into alternative therapies. She just might be persuaded ...”

The Doctor sighed in irritation, then checked himself quickly. These people might have issue with what he wanted and might object, but if he got upset Jothan would get upset as well, which was something he wanted to avoid. Jothan deserved nothing but the absolute best, especially after how he had been treated by those barbaric Palpidron slime. The Doctor was not about to worry Jothan over something the medic would see as quite trivial.

The nurse returned with a woman who looked the Doctor up and down twice, glanced over at Jothan, then asked crisply, “Is your husband an addict? Will he need detox treatment?”

The Time Lord went on the defensive at once, stepping away from the bed and pulling the doctor with him. “Of course he's not an addict!” he hissed. “Chocolate is a completely unmonitored foodstuff on millions of worlds—” 

“And none of those worlds are our world, Doctor,” the woman responded, louder than the Doctor cared for. “You are the savior of the Mevne race so I can give you some leeway, but I'm not going to encourage drug use, no matter who it's by. Just how much chocolate are we talking about? Ten grams? Twenty?”

The Doctor couldn't help himself, the promise he had made forgotten. “Four ounces,” he challenged roughly.

The woman went pale and looked like she would faint on the spot. “You can't be serious!” she shrieked. “Four ounces? I doubt the best dealers on the black market could scare up two ounces for a customer no matter what they would pay, and you want four? You're barking mad, and as far as your druggie husband is concerned—” 

At this, the Doctor lost his temper. “Never mind,” he roared. “I had no idea you people could be so uptight about a sweet. I just wanted to brighten Jothan's day a bit, but if it's going to be a big production, forget it! And don't you dare say another word about Jothan or you'll—”

Just then a sleepy voice said faintly, “Dog-der? Dog-der a-a-angry Jothan? Jothan bad?”

The Doctor flew back over to the bed, trying to reassure his husband. “No one's angry with you, Love; you've done nothing wrong. I'm sorry we woke you, it was just a silly little thing.”

The woman doctor gave Jothan and the Doctor a scathing look, then stormed off. The nurse said low, “I'll see that she's reprimanded, sir ... she had no right ...”

“Sort it,” the Doctor responded quietly, then turned his full attention back to his lover. 

Jothan looked miserable, his face pale and his eyes looking anywhere but at the Doctor. The Time Lord gave him a gentle hug and asked, “Are you hurting, Love? Is something wrong?”

“Dog-der angry, D-Dog-der nod good ...” The medic started crying. “Bad men p-p-p-poison Dog-der, Dog-der change. Jothan wand g-good Dog-der back. No wand Dog-der angry ...”

The Doctor didn't understand. If he wasn't mad at Jothan, why was the medic disturbed? Immediately he dismissed the question. It didn't matter why his husband was upset with him; he was upset and it was the Time Lord's job to calm him down and protect him. “It's going to be all right, Jothan,” he soothed. “I'm fine; I'm not even that angry. It was a stupid thing for me to be cross about, and it's over now. Please don't cry; I'll be all right.”

“Frog men b-b-b-bad, hurd Dog-der. Dog-der angry always,” the medic wept.

The Doctor vowed to himself to keep his temper under control from now on, no matter what the provocation. The medic had been hurt enough. “I'm sorry, Love. It won't happen anymore and I'll be myself again in no time. Don't be upset, it'll be all right.” 

It took a few minutes, but the medic did calm. The Doctor waited until Jothan had stopped crying and asked anxiously, “Is there anything you need, Love? Are you warm enough?”

“Jothan warm, no need wadder. Jothan wand ... wand wash, want eeee-eed.”

The Doctor felt like an idiot. Of course the medic would want to get clean; he hadn't had the chance at a proper bath since before they were captured. “I'm so sorry, Jothan,” he told his husband. “I should have thought of that.”

Jothan gave a little smile. “Dog-der n-n-no think things all ad once. Jothan wash now?”

The nurse piped up, “There's a bathing room here in the suite, and I can help you.”

The Doctor was happy that the nurse addressed Jothan directly, but wasn't pleased that she would offer to help with what should be his task. He squelched the feeling immediately; it was her job and he needed to behave himself. “Will you need help, Jothan?”

Jothan was already standing, and he looked strong enough. “Jothan can do. Have ... have something wear afder?”

“We have some clothing here that should fit,” the nurse answered.

“I can get you something from the TARDIS once you're settled,” the Doctor told him.

Jothan thought a moment, then said, “Wear new now. No wand waid.”

The nurse handed him a stack of clothing and towels, then explained, “If you fall or need help all you have to do is say the word 'Help', and an alarm will sound here. We'll come running.” 

The medic grimaced at the thought, then nodded. “Jothan will call if need.” Taking the things the nurse had handed him, he headed for the bathing room.

The Doctor debated on whether or not to stay; he really wanted to consult with the specialists, but they wouldn't be able to do anything for the sixty hours, so there was no point discussing the matter at the moment. He decided that now would be the perfect time to speak to the reporters. He told the nurse, “I'm going to make my statement to the press while Jothan's in the bath. If he comes out just tell him I'll be back soon.”

Thirty minutes later the Time Lord returned to the suite to find the remains of a tray of food and Jothan and the nurse looking over the mound of books he had acquired. The medic was just saying, “Wand give p-p-people no have someone love them. Jothan share people?”

“Of course you can,” the nurse told the medic. “That's very generous of you. I know there are some patients in the long-term care ward who could use some encouragement. How many do you want to give away?”

Jothan smiled as he caught sight of the Doctor. He came over and gave the Time Lord a kiss and told him, “Jothan give books people no have any. Nurse say give books make people happy.”

“I have an idea,” the Doctor told his husband. “Write your name on the inside cover of each one before you give it away. Then the people will have collector's items as well as something to pass the time with.”

The medic frowned. “No wand ... no w-w-wand make much of Jothan.”

The Doctor tried to explain his reasoning. “Jothan, like it or not you're popular here. That isn't going to change. It would mean a lot to the people receiving the books to have your autograph, and it doesn't hurt you in the slightest. At least consider it, Love.”

The medic turned to the nurse. “People like have my name in books?”

The nurse nodded. “People would be absolutely floored to receive a gift like that, especially from you. People know so little about you, you see ... and they'll think someone cares if you do it.”

Jothan sighed, then asked, “Where thing wride?”

The nurse told him, “I'll get you a stylus and some ink right away.” She bustled off, leaving the two alone for a moment.

Jothan picked up a book and opened it up, scanning the pages. Suddenly he dropped it on the table and questioned, “Why Dog-der wand Jothan speak press?”

The Doctor was surprised; he didn't think he had said anything that had given him away. “What makes you think that?” he asked, a little defensively.

The medic shrugged. “No need think; Dog-der think lll-loud enough for both.”

“Your telepathy's back—that's fantastic!” The Doctor beamed.

“Dog-der no dis-drac,” Jothan said sternly. “Dog-der wand Jothan speak press. Jothan no wand; wand sday 'way. No wand people know ... Jothan inside nod for all see. No wand share.”

“I'm not asking that you tell your life story, Love; just tell them how happy you are to be on Clovic Beta and smile at a camera—nothing difficult or intrusive, I promise.”

Jothan cocked his head at the Time Lord. “Why Dog-der w-wand Jothan speak?” he persisted.

The Time Lord responded, “I want people to like you, to treat you the way you deserve to be treated. If they know a little more about you ...”

“Jothan no wand all like Jothan. If Dog-der wand, Dog-der have; Jothan no wand.”

“One little interview,” the Doctor wheedled.

The medic glared at him. “Jothan no like new Dog-der much,” he complained.

The Time Lord felt alarmed. Was Jothan angry with him yet again? “I would never force you, Love; you know that, don't you?” he added hurriedly.

Jothan sighed mightily, then caved. “One dime speak, one ... p-p-p-person. Nod long. No speak seecred things. Speak safe things.”

“Whatever you want, Jothan. I'll make sure you're protected ...” The Time Lord all but danced over to the door. 

As he went out in the hallway, the Doctor was thoroughly pleased. Even a short interview with a reporter would be enough to show the Mevne how wonderful Jothan was, he was sure. He wanted to ensure that the people treated Jothan with the respect and adulation he deserved, whether he wanted it or not. If anyone deserved to be pampered, it was Jothan and himself. He was a bit stung by what Jothan had said about not liking him, but dismissed the thought quickly. Jothan knew the Doctor loved him and would never do anything to upset him needlessly. Maybe he was taking advantage a little, but it was only for the medic's benefit.

He went to the entrance to the VIP wing of the hospital and looked out at the dozens of reporters camped out there, eager for even a scrap of news. They all started calling out as the Doctor used his passkey to open the door and step out. “Which one of you considers yourself the most tenacious, the most persuasive, the most willing to wring a story out of someone? If that describes you, please move to the left side of the room.” 

The Time Lord waited until people had situated themselves and smiled; most of the reporters were on the left side, leaving just a few on the other. One of them was a woman with blonde hair and golden eyes who seemed innocent enough. He stepped up to her and asked, “Are you willing to be patient and gentle with my husband?” he asked her.

The woman nodded. “I won't press him to say any more than he wants to, and I'll only take a photo or two so people can see what he looks like.”

The Doctor took her by the arm and led her to the door, saying cheerfully, “Thank you all for your willingness to interview my husband, however, I have chosen the one lucky person among you who will get that opportunity. I will be giving more statements as time goes on, but for now the rest of you lot will have to wait.”

There were calls and shouts from those assembled, but no one tried to rush toward the door or sneak in. The Doctor used his passkey to enter the VIP wing again, and walked with the woman down the hall. “What is your name?” he asked.

“I'm Ardon Taffit,” she responded. “Thank you for choosing me for this assignment.”

As soon as they entered the room, they found Jothan sitting with the nurse signing the books one by one. The medic looked up, but didn't say anything as they came in. The Doctor smiled, and told his lover, “Jothan, this is Ardon Taffit, and she'll be interviewing you. Come say hello.”

Jothan grimaced, but took the woman's hand and stroked it, as was Mevne custom. “Lady mind Jothan work?” he questioned.

Ardon shook her head. “Feel free to do whatever you like, Jothan. I'm not here to interrupt what you might be doing.”

“Jothan's signing books to give to those in the hospital that have no families,” the Doctor boasted.

He got a pointed glare from Jothan for saying it, but he shook it off; everyone was going to know how generous and kind his husband was. The reporter looked first at Jothan then at the Time Lord, then back to the medic. “Perhaps it would be better if you stepped out for a bit, Doctor,” the woman said carefully, “That way I don't have to worry about your presence coloring the interview.”

The Time Lord bristled at that a bit, but then Jothan spoke up. “D-D-D-Dog-der ged Dar-diss, bring here. Dar-diss need safe, will miss Dog-der.”

“You're right,” the Doctor admitted. The TARDIS did need to be moved, and his presence would be more of a distraction than a help. If Jothan was going to speak with the reporter at all he needed to feel that it was his story, not the Doctor's. “I'll be back soon, Love,” he promised, then left.

************  
Jothan gave a small sigh of relief as his husband left the room. In spite of wanting to keep an eye on him, it would be much better to have the Doctor gone instead of adding in comments like he had just done. The medic turned to the reporter and said cautiously, “Whad lady wand know? Jothan no speak good now, brain hurd ...”

Ardon told him gently, “You don't have to speak well, Jothan; I just want to know a little about who you are and why you're here. First things first—what do you think of Clovic Beta?”

“People nice here. Eed odd, but eed odd always. Jothan go many places eed odd. Here have nice things, people nod bad.”

“Can you tell me how many planets you've visited with the Savior?”

Jothan gave her a stern look. “Not Savior!” he warned. “Is Dog-der, make people bedder.”

“I'm sorry, I didn't know his name. I'll use it from now on. So, do you know how many?”

The medic thought for a bit, then shook his head. “Not know. Many-many. Planeds, ships, all kind places. Jothan with D-D-Dog-der three years.”

“Are the people on other planets also enamored with you and the Doctor?”

“No, some hade Dog-der. Some ssss-scared Dog-der. Some like Dog-der. Last people hade Dog-der, dry hurd Jothan and Dog-der. We go 'way, hide.”

Ardon questioned, “Were you injured by them? Is that why you're in hospital?”

Jothan nodded. “Hurd Jothan brain, make Jothan pain. Hurd Dog-der too. Bad men, not nice. Did bad things. Jothan and Dog-der n-n-need ged bedder.”

The woman asked, “Why did they hate the two of you so much?”

“Bad men want Dog-der f-f-fide war spider people. Dog-der no want fide. Bad men hurd Jothan, dry poison Dog-der. Dog-der and Jothan run 'way.”

The reporter looked shocked. “Are you talking about the Palpidron? They're a pretty violent lot. In general we just leave each other alone.”

Jothan nodded. “Bad frog-men,” he told her. “Wand make Dog-der make bye-bye.”

“What does that mean, 'bye-bye'?”

“Bye-bye gone all dime, never back. Bury in ground or burn in sdar. No fix.”

Ardon mused for a moment, then said, “You mean dead, don't you?”

“Yes. Bye-bye never come back, nod ever.”

The woman looked at Jothan and asked, “If they wanted the Doctor to fight their war, why didn't they just ask? Is the Doctor opposed to war?”

The medic sighed. “Dog-der no like fide, but will if have need. Dog-der fide Cybermen, Silurians, Daleks, others. All those bad, never lissen, never learn. If people fix ways, no fide, no problem Dog-der.”

“And what about you, Jothan? What do you contribute to the relationship? Are you a fighter, or clever or just cute to have around?”

Jothan blushed red. “Jothan be medic. Help people. No cude.”

“I'm sure the Doctor disagrees. He's really devoted to you, isn't he?”

The medic couldn't meet Ardon's gaze. “Dog-der love Jothan, Jothan love Dog-der. No seecred.”

The woman smiled. “What do you like to do when you're not traveling the cosmos?”

Jothan thought for a bit. Finally he responded, “Dog-der and Jothan always go new places, nod much dime not dravel. But when no dravel, Jothan like swim, cook, read, hike. No like many many people, no like be fish in ... in thing with wadder. No wand people like doo much. Here people like doo much, Jothan no like.”

“We Mevne don't usually go overboard on people like we have on the two of you, but considering what you've accomplished you're going to be popular, especially if you're all alien and mysterious. The more you portray yourself as secretive and unusual, the more people will be interested in you. Your best bet is to show people you're just as normal as they are, even if you are shy. The alternative is to become an untouchable celebrity who everyone wants to know more about.”

Jothan shook his head violently. “No wand made much of! No like. Jothan wand lef' 'lone, no speak many people. Dog-der say whad Dog-der wand, but Jothan nod. Jothan ... Jothan seecred.”

The woman said firmly, “The more secretive you are, Jothan, the more people will try to pry into your affairs. You'll have to strike a balance if you want the privacy you long for.”

Jothan looked at the reporter for a long moment. “Lady help?” he asked.

“I will do all I can to portray you as boring and everyday, but in the end it's still a matter of being seen doing boring things and being ... actively boring.”

Jothan sighed. “How do?”

“You may not like the suggestion, but if you were to go to the botanical gardens or some other public place and read books and take naps, you'd be boring very quickly. Smile and wave, because you don't want to be stand-offish, but in general do boring things out where people can see you. That way everyone assumes you're boring in private as well.”

“Jothan speak Dog-der. No wand go places no Dog-der.”

Ardon smiled. “I think that's a good idea. You'll probably be inundated if you go alone.”

Jothan was talking to the reporter about Earth when suddenly several people burst into the room. One was a doctor while the others were guards, weapons drawn. “Whad happen?” Jothan cried out, alarmed.

One of the guards told him, “A troop of Palpidron shock troopers transmatted into the square where your ship was and attempted to take it by force. We're being invaded!”

************  
The Doctor managed to leave the hospital with little fanfare once he made it to the front door. The ground transport that had brought them there was still waiting, and the Time Lord got in. It took more time than it had to get there because of the crowds, but he wasn't worried; Jothan was in good hands, and it wouldn't matter how long it took him to get back. 

Once the ground transport arrived at their destination it was a bit tougher. The guards had to push past people to make enough room for the Time Lord to get through. At last the Doctor caught a glimpse of his ship, which was cordoned off by guards. He was just about to enter the restricted area when there was a large patch of shimmering in the air and twenty Palpidron shock troopers appeared with a crate large enough to contain the TARDIS. Their leader shouted, “Make no movement. We are here for this craft and we will take it. Also, we want the Time Lord and his companion delivered to us within the hour. Comply and no one will be hurt. Resist and there will be dire consequences.”

At first no one moved or spoke, the only sound a light breeze in the treetops. Then one of the guards asked cautiously, “You want the Savior? You're here to take him away?”

“That is correct,” the Palpidron squad leader responded. “Give up the Time Lord now and—”

He never got a chance to finish his sentence, as he was gunned down by the guard. “Protect the Savior!” someone shouted, and then pandemonium broke loose. The Doctor felt himself being pushed toward the edge of the square as the Mevne guards started firing at the Palpidron. There were screams and shouts as the mob of Mevne citizens overpowered the shock troopers. After a minute or so the few remaining Palpidron transmatted out, leaving the large crate. The lasers stopped, and things began to calm down. There were cries of injured people, some shot, some trampled in the melee. The Doctor pushed through the crowds until he got to the roped-off area and asked, “Any prisoners?”

One of the guards shook his head. “They used their transmat to get out. What do we do, Savior? Will the ugly frogs return?”

“Have the Senate convene immediately. I have no doubt that the Palpidron want to get their hands on my ship, and then on Jothan and myself. Let the hospital know what's going on and that they need to keep Jothan safe at all costs. I'm staying here with my ship in case they come back.”

More guards were pouring into the square, along with medics for the injured. The guards took up positions around the TARDIS and the Doctor himself. The crowd of civilians thinned as more and more guards showed up. At last the area was cleared of bystanders, and the hurt were hustled off to hospitals. The Senators arrived in person, the presider coming up to the Doctor and telling him, “We have more troops arriving soon; we are not about to hand you over to any amphibian sludgebrains. Should you move your craft somewhere now, Savior, or do you want it where it is?”

The Time Lord shook his head. “Move it so it's against one of the buildings; that way you can see them coming and act accordingly. I expect that they will return with more troops. I must make sure my ship isn't taken, and that Jothan—”

“He's already being guarded at the hospital, which is now on lockdown. That's not to say that they can't transmat in, but they'll have a battalion of soldiers waiting for them. What about you, Savior? How can we best aid you?”

The Doctor said firmly, “Keep the TARDIS safe. If they get her it means I'll have to go fight with them to get her back, on their territory. You'll have to decide how you want to handle the situation ...”

The presider answered shortly, “They invaded us, an act of war. We'll show them that though they might travel the stars, they are no match for our forces.”

The TARDIS was positioned with its back against one of the nearby buildings. A plethora of guards took up positions around it. The Doctor directed, “Lay the crate on its side and place it three meters in front of the TARDIS so you have some shelter. Arrange yourselves accordingly; they'll do anything to get their hands on my ship.”

The presider looked worried. “What about you, Savior? We can't let them take you prisoner or risk your life ...”

The Doctor shook his head. “I need to find out how they tracked us here. Even if they somehow knew I would return to your planet, they managed to come to just where my ship was, and that's not good. 

The presider frowned. “I beg you, Savior, go somewhere that's safe. We can keep them away from your ship if they're stupid enough to try again, but if something were to happen to you the citizens will tear us apart.”

The Time Lord thought for a minute, then said, “I have a plan, though you may not like it ...”

“Tell us, Savior—you probably know best ...”

“Jothan and I can leave now and prevent this from going any further. They'll lose interest in you if we're not here. I don't want any more people hurt on my account ...”

The presider said solemnly, “Of course. There's no reason for you to put yourself in danger if it's not needed. They may not believe us when we say you are gone, but ...”

The Time Lord felt a pang of guilt, but he squashed it quickly. Nothing was more important than Jothan's safety. But first, he had to discover how the Palpidron had found the TARDIS, otherwise there was a risk of them following behind again. “There's something I need to do first,” he told the presider. “I need to scan my ship for alien tech. It could be that they put a tracker on it, which means that they'll just keep following us around if I don't remove it. Do you have any quasitronic, Delta-strength ion scanners?”

The presider looked confused. “I have no idea, Savior; I'm no scientist. Perhaps the military would have one ...”

“Who would I need to contact?” the Time Lord questioned.

“I can find out, Savior. The Senate has power over all military actions and equipment.”

The Doctor nodded. “Be as quick as you can; we're all in danger until I find that tracker, if there is one.”

The presider hurried away with the rest of the senators, leaving the Doctor and the soldiers. The battalion leader approached the Doctor and saluted. “What are your orders, Savior?” he asked.

The Time Lord bit his lip, considering. He was worried about Jothan. If he left the medic where he was the Doctor couldn't look out for him. On the other hand, it might be grand folly to put the TARDIS, Jothan, and himself in one place to be snatched up by the Palpidron. Finally he decided, “Jothan will remain at the hospital. If the TARDIS does have a tracker on her I need to find it, and it's too great a risk for Jothan to be put in harm's way.”

The battalion leader saluted again, then went back to his troops.

In ten minutes the presiding senator came back and told the Doctor, “I'm sorry Savior, but the military has no such device. They'd never even heard of an ion scanner. Is there something else you could use?”

The Doctor frowned, but quickly remembered what technology level the Mevne were at. He should have known they wouldn't have anything close to what he needed. He decided to make a change of plan. “Send a message to the hospital and have Jothan ready to go; we're going to leave. It's risky, but we'll have to take the chance. I don't know what the range is on their transmat, but it's doubtful they can follow us through time, and hopefully we'll be quick enough to not get caught again. I fear we've started a war ...”

The senator shook his head. “Nonsense. It was their choice to try and take what did not belong to them. We may not have fancy technology like transmats and space craft, but we can and will defend ourselves against any invasion force. A chemical attack on their forces might be enough to drive them away ...”

The Time Lord nodded. “Don't spare any of them. They certainly won't show kindness to you or your people.”

The presider nodded. “We'll make sure they pay for what they've done.”

The Doctor bowed to the presider and stepped into the TARDIS.

************  
“The craft just winked out of scanner range, General!”

General Prillit said tersely, “Be ready to re-acquire signal within the next—”

“Craft is back on scanners, sir! Different location, but it's definitely the same ship.”

General Prillit ordered, “Send the next wave of troopers. Make sure they've set their weapons correctly; only the Time Lord should be able to survive a shot. Tell them to avoid hitting the alien companion if they can, but not at their own expense.” He wriggled his tongue around, thinking. Either the Time Lord didn't know about the tracker or he didn't care. If it was the first they had a huge advantage if they acted quickly. If the man was aware, well ... that was a calculated risk.

************  
Jothan waited, worried for his husband. Word had come that the Doctor was bringing the TARDIS, and that the medic must be ready. He was ready; all he had to do was get on board the TARDIS and they would be safe. The young man tried to stay calm as the thirty soldiers guarding him placed themselves in strategic positions. They had moved him from his room to a disused psychiatric ward where every door was locked and every direction could be easily viewed from a central hub. Jothan breathed a sigh of relief as he heard the familiar wheeze of the TARDIS materializing down one of the corridors. He stood up and was just going to start walking when one of the soldiers pulled him down again. “Wait for a minute or so; it could turn ugly at any moment.”

Jothan tried again to stand. “Jothan musd leave!” he hissed. “Jothan and Dog-der gone, no more fide. Jothan and Dog-der musd lll-leave, now!”

The soldier wouldn't let go. “Wait for the Savior to come out, then we'll escort you. We can't be sure that those nasty amphibians won't come back.”

Jothan tried to argue, “Leave now, frog/men no come. Musd go ship!”

Just then, the door opened and the Doctor poked his head out, then stepped back to let some guards out of the TARDIS. “Bring him out!” he ordered. “Hurry!”

The guards by Jothan all stood in defensive positions as the medic stood to his feet and headed for the main corridor. They only got partway before there was a shimmering mirage, and Palpidron troops transmatted in all around them. The medic was pushed to the floor as firing started, and then everything happened almost too quickly for him to realize. He crawled back to the central hub, bodies falling all around him, both Mevne soldiers and Palpidron shock troops. One of the guards pulled Jothan under the shelter of the nurses' station before falling prey to a head shot. Several other troopers found safety under the desk, calling out to each other, trying to come up with a plan. Jothan managed to sneak a peek down the hall where the TARDIS was, and almost fell over in shock. There was the Doctor, a Palpidron weapon in his hands, gunning down anyone that got too close. The Mevne troops with him were trying to clear a path to the nurses' station, but it was rough going. Finally they made it to the half-moon desk and ducked behind it. The Doctor growled, “Where's Jothan? Is he all right?”

One of the guards answered grimly, “Your companion is safe, Savior, but I think they're going to take your ship. Right now it's cut off—”

The Doctor shook his head. “I set the TARDIS controls so she's locked in this time/space position. I can't move her, but neither can they. You're sure Jothan's all right?”

Jothan angrily grabbed the Doctor's weapon from him and flung it to the floor. “Pud down!” he snarled. “Dog-der no use. Dog-der b-b-bad!”

“I'm trying to save your life, Jothan,” the Time Lord shot back hotly. “Best believe I'm going to use every advantage I can get.”

The shooting stopped as each group tried to get itself together. The Doctor popped his head up quickly then dropped down again as weapons were discharged. “I saw about five of them right in front of my ship, but it could be that they've opened some of the doors down that hall, so there's no telling how many there might be. Can you get reinforcements?”

“I've radioed in, Savior, but it will take time. You're sure they can't hurt your ship?”

“Certain,” the Time Lord affirmed.

Jothan moved as far away from his husband as he could without exposing himself to unfriendly fire. This wasn't the Doctor. This was some alien. Right now the Doctor, the real Doctor, would be in the TARDIS rigging up some non-lethal gizmo that would render the Palpidron unconscious or unable to do more damage, and then everything would be all right. The man giving orders to the Mevne on the subject of wounding versus killing shots was a complete stranger.

At that moment, Jothan saw one of the downed Palpidron troopers starting to move. The Doctor saw it too, and reached for a weapon. Jothan covered the frog man with his body and said chillingly, “Dog-der no do. Never. Dog-der sdop now.”

The Time Lord was quiet, but firm. “Jothan, you need to move.”

Jothan fumbled around for a second, and grabbed hold of the Palpidron's sidearm. He held it to his own head and replied just as quietly, “Dog-der no do. Dog-der dry, Jothan bye-bye.”

No one moved. Even the Palpidron trooper had the sense to stay still. Jothan locked eyes with the Time Lord and told him, “Dog-der sick. Dog-der _wrong_. Dog-der musd sdop. Led frog/man go. Dog-der led frog/man go now.”

The Doctor moved a little closer to the medic. “I don't appreciate being put in this situation, Jothan. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to in order to keep you safe.”

Jothan backed up a fraction, still hovering over the fallen combatant. “Dog-der no hurd frog/man. Dog-der led bad frog/man go, things—” 

“Put down the gun Jothan, or I will break your wrist.”

The medic stood his ground. “Dog-der can dry, bud Dog-der be sss-sorry afder. _Very_ sorry.”

The Time Lord stared at Jothan, who glared right back. There was no way Jothan was going to let the Doctor kill this creature. He knew full well that his husband might try to get the gun, and if he did the medic was prepared to use his telepathy to knock the Time Lord out. That would just leave the guards for Jothan to contend with.

Fortunately, Jothan didn't have to do anything violent. One moment the Time Lord looked like he was going to rip the medic in half; the next moment he had moved away, saying in an agonized voice, “I don't want you hurt, Jothan. What do you want? What should I do?”

“Dog-der led frog/man go. Frog/man safe, Jothan speak Dog-der.”

“And you'll give me the gun?”

Jothan considered, then shrugged. “After speak, Jothan give.”

“You promise?”

The medic nodded. “After speak, Jothan promise give gun.”

Jothan called out to the Palpidron, “Frog man coming—no shood!” He hoped the troopers would listen, and felt relieved when the wounded Palpidron stood to his feet without being shot. He stumbled toward the end of the hall. The medic sighed in relief, then faced his husband. 

The Time Lord was just out of arm's reach, waiting anxiously. Jothan wasn't sure what to say at first; his husband was clearly worried about the medic, but had also displayed a callous, vengeful side. The younger man remembered what the Palpidron had said about the drug they had used on the Doctor, how no one knew if the change was permanent or not. If it was permanent there was no way the Doctor could stay alive; the universe would have a real threat on their hands if he did. Jothan's heart was breaking at the mere thought, but he would not worry about it now; there was a situation to deal with. The medic squared his shoulders and looked his lover straight in the eyes. “This do. Dog-der find way sdop frog-men, but no bye-bye. Dog-der no make bye-bye no more, or Jothan bye-bye.”

The Time Lord looked shocked. “You promised me you would give me the gun!” he protested.

“Jothan will give gun. Jothan no need.”

“How do you plan to kill—”

The medic snorted as he passed over the weapon. “You think Jothan dell you? Jothan not ssss-dupid. Just know, Jothan have way make bye-bye. That all Dog-der need know.”

The Time Lord looked panicked. “There isn't a way to do it. They're between us and the TARDIS so we can't leave. We have to kill—”

“No! No more bye-bye. Dog-der doo much bye-bye. No more. Dog-der smard. Dog-der find way. Dog-der bedder find way ...”

The Time Lord seemed deep in thought, then looked toward the soldiers. He said slowly, “Depending on what they have ... do you guards carry Zandixardin Twelve by any chance?”

“Yes sir,” one of the guards told the Doctor. “We can augment the gas pods with nerve gas, tear gas, or other substances should the need arise.”

The older man thought for a moment. “I might be able to come up with something ...”

Jothan nodded. “Dog-der work. Dog-der work hard, find way. Jothan waid.”

Jothan watched as his husband talked with the Mevne soldiers and took their gas pods from them. He then reached in his pocket and took out a spice jar. He then used a special tool to inject the substance into the globes. “Whad do?” the medic asked.

“I'm adding some cinnamon to the gas. It should work well enough to get us to the TARDIS without trouble. After that I'll need to re-start her; I closed down everything but her “soul”, for lack of a better term. It'll take time but I doubt they can hurt her, and they won't be able to hurt us if we stay inside.”

Jothan nodded. “Dell guards be ready.”

The older man whispered to the guards, then threw one of the globes, which shattered. An intense, acrid smell filled the hallway, making Jothan hold his nose. The Time Lord popped his head out from behind the desk, then grabbed Jothan by the arm and propelled him up. The two made a dash for the TARDIS, seeing the Palpidron troops all on their knees, vomiting and coughing. A moment later they all transmatted out. The Doctor got the ship open, then pulled at Jothan again. The medic stepped into the craft, slamming the door behind him. 

************  
The Doctor took a flashlight out of his pocket and started bringing the TARDIS back to life. Jothan stood by the door, not speaking. The Time Lord was very concerned. He had no idea how his husband had planned to harm himself, but he was determined to make sure it didn't happen. He couldn't lose Jothan, he just couldn't. For an hour he tried to focus on getting the TARDIS up and running but his mind kept wandering back to Jothan, what he was prepared to do to keep that useless Palpidron bag of flesh alive. He would have to explain, have to make his lover understand how important he was. His husband was worth a million planets' worth of Palpidron sludge. He finally turned to Jothan and said in a quavering voice, “I must know, Jothan ... you don't mean any harm to yourself now, do you?”

The medic shrugged. “Jothan fine.”

“That's not good enough,” the Time Lord protested. “I need to know you won't do yourself any harm. You have no idea how important you are, Love, and ...” He stopped, nearly breaking down.

The younger man stepped toward the Doctor and put an arm around him. “Dog-der no sss-sad, no cry ... Jothan n-n-no hurd Jothan.”

A few tears leaked out of the Time Lord's eyes. “You promise?”

“Jothan promise. Now where g-g-g-go? Jothan wand ged bedder ...”

The Doctor finished his work, and the TARDIS was glowing green again. “We're going straight to Yamexibon. They can have you better within a few days at the most. They also will have equipment so I can check the TARDIS for that tracker.” 

“How keep frog/men follow?” Jothan wanted to know.

“First, Yamexibon is an incredible distance away from here and I doubt any transmat could reach so far. Second, I'm going to take us a few years into the past so they don't even want us yet.”

Jothan smiled. “Dog-der think good,” he observed.

“I do indeed,” the Doctor remarked. He leaned in for a kiss, but Jothan pulled away. The Time Lord felt hurt, and turned a little red. “You're still angry with me?” he questioned.

Jothan went and sat down on the jump seat. “D-D-Dog-der sss-dill sick. Wand Dog-der bedder.”

“Jothan, I haven't changed as much as you think. Just because I was doling out justice—” 

“Whad Dog-der do nod jusdice,” Jothan remarked quietly. “Dog-der wand revenge. Dog-der wand hurd frog/men, wand make bye-bye. Dog-der _like_ make frog/men bye-bye. Where jusdice now? Dog-der bad; Jothan n-no kiss, no cuddle. Jothan kiss good Dog-der Dog-der bedder.”

The Doctor couldn't meet the medic's eyes. He set the TARDIS controls without a word, then left the Console Room.

************  
Jothan sighed as he got dressed. He was glad they were leaving Yamexibon, but wished the Doctor had made some progress in his own recovery. The Doctor had been hard to take the past few days, demanding outrageous special treatment for the two of them and generally making a nuisance of himself. The tension between the two of them was palpable, but Jothan refused to give an inch. He wasn't about to let the Time Lord get away with his bad behavior, and had called him out on even the little things. The medic hoped that time would help, but for now he was stuck with a hyper-arrogant, pompous sod who absolutely refused to see that he was the problem, not those around him.

The doctors had not been able to find anything wrong with the Doctor, and the Time Lord himself had taken this to mean there was no problem in the first place, saying he had only been under stress. Jothan didn't even dignify that with a remark; he just snorted and left the room. There may not have been any visible damage done to his husband, but anyone with intelligence above that of a house plant could have seen the difference in the Time Lord. Jothan was beginning to worry that there was no way to change his lover back into who he used to be. Worse, the Doctor didn't seem to want to be his old self. The Time Lord staunchly declared that he deserved a little pampering after all he had done for the universe, and that Jothan deserved no less as his companion. In fact, most of what the older man demanded was for the medic, which made Jothan extremely uncomfortable.

Jothan sighed again, and headed to where they had parked the TARDIS. When he got there he found the Doctor arguing with one of the medical personnel over a piece of bulky equipment. “What's going on?” he asked shortly.

“I'm not going to break it!” the Doctor hissed, yanking on the item. “Anyone with half a brain can use a quasitronic, Delta-strength ion scanner.”

“We have patients we need to use this for, sir!” the medic protested, pulling back. “If you want it there's requisition forms to fill out and—”

The Time Lord wrenched the scanner out of the medic's grasp. “I need it for five minutes ... I'm not about to sit and wait for some bloody paperwork!”

The medic's shoulders slumped. “Just bring it back in one piece,” he muttered, walking away.

Jothan was livid. “Doctor! How dare you take this away from people that need medical treatment—give it back at once! And since when do you use such language?”

The Time Lord ignored him for once, absorbed in his task. He slowly circled the TARDIS twice, then his eyes lit up. “Found it,” he remarked grimly. He put down the device, took a black marker out of his jacket pocket, and drew a circle around a small lump in the blue of one panel. “I'll need a phase inverter to remove it.”

“Will you steal that from sick people as well?” Jothan demanded.

“I'm not stealing anything,” the Doctor bristled. “They can have it back shortly.”

Jothan was still furious. “You are absolutely unbelievable, d'you know that? I don't even know you anymore!”

“Until this tracker is gone we're both in danger!” the Time Lord insisted. “Do you want the Palpidron following us through the galaxy?”

“You took us back in time specifically to prevent that,” Jothan reminded the Doctor. “You said they wouldn't even be looking for us yet!”

“I'm not taking any chances, not with you,” the Time Lord spat back. “Besides, I still have unfinished business.”

“You're going back, aren't you—that's really why you wanted to find that tracker. You want to go back!” Jothan accused.

The Doctor did not answer.

Jothan turned away, his eyes full of tears. The man he loved was gone. There was now a crazed Time Lord on the loose, with only one person in the universe with a chance to stop the madness. He would have to come up with something. He thought for a bit, then approached his husband asking, “Do I have time to run an errand, or are you just going to leave me here to rot?”

The Time Lord's face softened as he turned around and hugged Jothan. The young man had to put in effort to not pull away. The Doctor said gently, “I would never do that. I want you by my side always, Love. Take all the time you need; I have to find the right kind of phase inverter anyway.”

Jothan hurried away. He got directions to a pharmacy and had an hour-long discussion with the pharmacist there on weight and species and other concerns. When he left he had one precious paper packet with him. Heavy-hearted, he went back to the TARDIS.

************  
The Doctor entered the TARDIS and went briskly to the controls, not seeing Jothan sitting on the jump seat. He nearly jumped when his husband said mildly, “Before we go anywhere we need to talk, maybe have a cup of tea.”

The Time Lord thought for a moment. He wanted to get back to the Palpidron base and exact his revenge, but Jothan was right; they needed to have a serious conversation about what was going to happen. The Time Lord would be adamant that his husband remain in the TARDIS where he could be safe and not get involved. “Tea will be fine.”

He followed Jothan to the kitchen and sat down as his husband got out the kettle. The young man was busy for a few minutes, then asked quietly, “Is Nexun Red a good choice?”

The Time Lord nodded absently. “Whatever you want.”

He waited for Jothan to bring over the mugs and watched as Jothan sweetened the Time Lord's tea with sweetener from a paper packet and handed it over. He took a sip, then asked for more sugar; the tea seemed more bitter than usual. He took another paper packet of sweetener, had another experimental sip, then looked Jothan in the eyes. “What do you want to tell me?” he asked. 

Jothan was direct. “If I asked you to let this go ... to end this and let us go on as before, would you?”

The Doctor shook his head. “Not after what they did. They could have killed you, Love. They could have done permanent brain damage with their little stunt—you were lucky the doctors at Yamexibon were able to restore you completely. They—” 

“What about you, Doctor? What about what they did to you?” the young man asked quietly.

The Doctor considered, then replied, “I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. I am perfectly fine.” He drained his mug of tea and held it out. “Is there any more?”

Jothan shook his head sadly. “I can't understand how you can't see how you've changed, how different you are. You're completely blind to it. You don't even know what you've become ...”

“Nothing's changed, but even if it has, I put it down to improvement, not impairment.” The Doctor looked more closely at Jothan and frowned. “You're crying.”

Jothan shrugged, ignoring the Doctor's comment. “I don't feel like tea right now,” he answered. “Why don't we finish this talk in your bedroom, where it's more comfortable?”

The Doctor looked suspiciously at his husband. “My room? We never do anything in my room. Do you even know where it is?”

“If you show me, I'll know,” Jothan said, wiping his eyes.

The Doctor stayed in his seat. “Something's going on, something you're not telling me. What is it? You've done something ...”

Jothan sighed. “I've done what I had to do. You're a danger, Doctor—a danger to the whole universe. You would go marauding through space and time with nothing but contempt and a sense of entitlement. That's not the man I married, not the man I loved.”

The Doctor bounded out of his seat and took Jothan by the shoulders, shaking him a bit. “What did you do?” he shouted. Getting no answer he dashed out of the room with Jothan hot on his heels. The Time Lord ran into the Console Room and went over every control panel, looking for whatever his husband might have done to the ship. “If you've tampered with the TARDIS ...”

Jothan shook his head, openly weeping. “Not the TARDIS, Doctor. I did it to you.”

“What did you do to me? Have you poisoned me? What did you do?” The Doctor looked scared. “I thought you loved me ...”

Jothan calmed down enough to tell the Time Lord, “I do love you. But you're not you anymore. I'm taking you back to who you used to be, before all this happened.”

“What do you mean, 'taking me back'? Taking me back in time won't change anything, Jothan!”

“I've given you Ret-Con. It's a drug that erases the memory. You'll sleep for a while, and then you won't remember anything.” Jothan wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

The Doctor looked bewildered. “How much am I going to forget? Just the Palpidron?”

“No, Doctor, more than that. Much more. Just going back to before the Palpidron wouldn't be enough; part of the reason you got so angry was because of me, what they did to me. I don't want you ever to be like that because of me again, and this way, you won't.”

The Doctor went pale. “You're erasing you. Everything to do with you. Love, you can't do that! You're my husband, my everything!”

Jothan wiped his eyes again. “That's just it, Doctor. I'm your everything. I used to just be your lover and husband, not your reason for living. The Universe needs you, Doctor—needs you to put things right and make a difference. If I'm in the picture, sooner or later you'll forget that.”

“Jothan, please don't do this! I can change, I can do better!” the Doctor begged, starting to cry.

“You don't even see what's wrong with you. How can you change something you can't see or realize?” Jothan came over to the Doctor and kissed him gently, then pulled away. “The TARDIS and I worked it out. You'll fall asleep and she'll take me back to Outpost Seventeen and drop me off. Then she'll take you into the Vortex and jettison my room. You'll get to start over again, make different choices, hopefully better ones.”

“I won't forget you! I can't! You're everything to me ... I'll find a way ...” the Doctor suddenly lurched to one side.

Jothan came over to the Time Lord and helped him sit on the jump seat. He whispered the Doctor's true name, then said quietly, “I love you as well, but it has to be like this. You will forget, because you must. You'll go on as you did before, before you met me.” He waited until the Doctor's eyes were closed, then told the TARDIS, “It's time. I'll miss you, old girl. Take care of him for me.”

The ship landed. Jothan gave the Doctor one last, lingering kiss, then stepped out of the TARDIS for the last time.

************  
The Doctor woke with a jerk, not sure of where he was. He looked around and realized he was sitting on the jump seat in the Console Room. He couldn't remember where he had been headed or what he was up to, but he wasn't all that concerned. He'd had several episodes like this since the Time War; it was like having a flashback. Still, he could deal with it; it was better than the nightmares he had when he tried to sleep. Standing and stretching, he wondered what he should do with himself. He could, he could ... wait, he did remember! It was that Rose Tyler girl and the Nestene Consciousness! He could go back and try one more time to get her to go with him. Pleased, he set the coordinates and set off.

************ End of series ************


End file.
